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At least 58 children from Florida, aged between three and fifteen, are being sent to Guatemala and other Latin American countries to reunite with their families following the deportation of their parents or guardians.
According to a report this Friday from the agency EFE, the minors are receiving assistance from the Guatemalan-Maya Center, an organization based in Lake Worth Beach (Palm Beach), dedicated to supporting Central American migrants.
The case, which has caused shock in South Florida, illustrates the human impact of intensified immigration raids during the second term of President Donald Trump.
According to EFE, seven of the children traveled this week from Miami International Airport to Guatemala.
Three of them are U.S. citizens, and four grew up in communities in Palm Beach County, which has a large Guatemalan population.
“Separating a child from their parents is not a lesson for anyone; there are no winners in this. The only losers are the children,” stated volunteer Diego Serrato from the Guatemalan-Maya Center to the newspaper.
The organization has also arranged powers of attorney for another 200 minors whose parents fear being detained, so that they can be placed under temporary care while their immigration cases are resolved.
In Lake Worth Beach, located just eleven kilometers from Mar-a-Lago, the residence of President Trump, arrests have increased, according to testimonies gathered by the local media.
The data from the American Immigration Council (AIC) reflects the magnitude of the issue: until 2018, around 4.4 million U.S. citizen children lived with at least one undocumented parent, and more than 6 million shared a household with a relative without legal status.
Humanitarian organizations warn that these policies have devastating consequences for minors.
Experts from AIC warn about the risk of "toxic stress," anxiety, mental health disorders, academic difficulties, and loss of emotional and economic stability.
Studies also indicate that, in many households, the deportation of a wage-earning member leads to a financial collapse, with reductions of between 40% and 90% in the family budget in the months that follow.
The phenomenon, far from being isolated, affects entire communities that live under the constant fear of losing a parent or caregiver.
Although the government has defended the strict enforcement of immigration laws, the collateral effects on thousands of children —including U.S. citizens— highlight the harsher side of the ongoing immigration policy.
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