Overview
- Volunteers from the Guatemalan Maya Center posted roughly 200 black signs across Lake Worth Beach to mark locations where community members report being detained, and many signs were removed by mid-afternoon.
- An evening vigil outside the center drew about 100 people as children described parents being taken in recent months and pleaded for community support.
- Organizers tied the local actions to broader enforcement trends, citing more than 3,500 arrests under Florida’s 287(g) agreements since Aug. 1 and a reported increase of over 60% in ICE removals year over year.
- ICE did not immediately comment on the reports, while Deputy Homeland Security Secretary Tricia McLaughlin cautioned that such public allegations could jeopardize officer safety.
- Reactions in the city were mixed, with some residents disputing the term “kidnapped” as advocates alleged racial profiling and said even people with legal status, including a U.S. citizen, were detained.