Lake Worth Beach urged to rethink PBSO contract extension over fears of immigration crackdown
By Wilkine Brutus
August 13, 2026 at 7:15 PM EDT
Immigrant rights groups on Thursday gathered outside Lake Worth Beach City Hall to decry the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office 287(g) enforcement agreement with federal immigration authorities.
The groups are urging members of the Lake Worth Beach city commission to reject a proposed 10-year contract extension with the sheriff's office.
“Lake Worth Beach has an opportunity to decide what kind of community it wants to be,” said Renata Bozzetto, Deputy Director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “A 10-year law-enforcement agreement that expands collaboration with federal immigration authorities deserves far more scrutiny than a routine contract renewal."
"We have hundreds of families who are [being] separated, hundreds of kids who are left without a mom and a dad who are either in detention or deported at this moment," Bozzetto said. "It's hurting the community on a daily basis."
Bozzetto said the lack of transparency in how the immigrant community is being policed harms community trust and creates fears of being harassed or profiled, and reduces the incentive for people to call the police for any safety reason.
She said organizations are requesting officials protect immigrants from being unfairly and racially profiled.
"This lack of transparency is by default an expansion of the cruel and indiscriminate powers that come with a 287(g) agreement," she added.
The agreement deputizes and trains local law enforcement as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and gives them authority to carry out federal immigration laws. All 67 county sheriff's offices in Florida have signed 287(g) cooperation agreements with federal immigration authorities.
Lake Worth contracts with PBSO for 24/7 public safety services. PBSO provides everything from top command officers to school crossing guards, allowing the city not to have to fund its own police department.
Debate over PBSO contract set for Aug. 18
The Lake Worth Beach city commission is expected to discuss the proposed extension with PBSO on Aug. 18.
The city will also supply a dedicated local district office for the assigned deputies.
Annual cost could total nearly $16 million for the contract. Additional law enforcement services are billed at hourly rates of $142 for a deputy and $183 for a sergeant.
READ MORE: 'Leaving us all alone': Border Patrol arrests Lake Worth parents in front of U.S.-born children
Gov. Ron DeSantis has defended the 287(g) agreements with local sheriff's offices, saying that Florida has the most agreements of any state and that Florida accounts for more than 40% of all state/local immigration arrests nationwide.
"Florida remains committed to leading the nation in immigration enforcement, supporting President Trump's mission to secure the border, detain illegal aliens, and carry out deportation operations that protect American communities," DeSantis told reporters in late June.
Representatives from immigrant advocacy groups — including the Guatemalan Mayan Center, Lake Worth All, Indivisible Immigration Coalition, and Community Justice Project — say the city remains a huge target for immigration crackdowns that are breaking apart families.
They noted the high-profile arrest of a community leader and former Mayan language interpreter for the Guatemalan Mayan Center, Olga Perez.
"I lost my mom," her U.S.-born daughter Jessica Perez told reporters during Thursday's press conference. Her father was also deported.
"She got to stay with us for two weeks but for me that wasn’t enough because both have to restart their life in Guatemala."
Renatta Bozzetto, director of the nonprofit Florida Immigration Coalition, speaking next to Father Frank of the Guatemalan Maya Center in Lake Worth Beach | August 13, 2026 (5712x4284, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
Concerns about immigration crackdown, public safety
Current and former elected officials are also raising alarms.
Former Lake Worth Beach city commissioner, Kimberly Stokes, said the city needs "a more comprehensive approach to public health and safety in this town that makes everybody who lives here feel safe and protected."
"This [PBSO] contract does not do that. So we're asking them to not move forward with this contract."
Stokes also raised concerns over mass surveillance cameras, such as Flock license plate readers, used to surveil residents and tourists, especially immigrants.
Lake Worth Beach commissioner Christopher McVoy told WLRN he disagrees with the current police contract and said taxpayer funds must be used "wisely to best keep our city safe."
McVoy said data from the National Library of Medicine and the Center for American Progress, said local and federal partnerships to enforce immigration laws do not reduce crime.
"Instead, across the nation, it has eroded security, damaged community trust, and increased the risk of expensive litigation," he added. "I hope my colleagues will agree to significantly modify our PBSO contract to keep our community safer."
The groups are urging members of the Lake Worth Beach city commission to reject a proposed 10-year contract extension with the sheriff's office.
“Lake Worth Beach has an opportunity to decide what kind of community it wants to be,” said Renata Bozzetto, Deputy Director of the Florida Immigrant Coalition. “A 10-year law-enforcement agreement that expands collaboration with federal immigration authorities deserves far more scrutiny than a routine contract renewal."
"We have hundreds of families who are [being] separated, hundreds of kids who are left without a mom and a dad who are either in detention or deported at this moment," Bozzetto said. "It's hurting the community on a daily basis."
Bozzetto said the lack of transparency in how the immigrant community is being policed harms community trust and creates fears of being harassed or profiled, and reduces the incentive for people to call the police for any safety reason.
She said organizations are requesting officials protect immigrants from being unfairly and racially profiled.
"This lack of transparency is by default an expansion of the cruel and indiscriminate powers that come with a 287(g) agreement," she added.
The agreement deputizes and trains local law enforcement as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, and gives them authority to carry out federal immigration laws. All 67 county sheriff's offices in Florida have signed 287(g) cooperation agreements with federal immigration authorities.
Lake Worth contracts with PBSO for 24/7 public safety services. PBSO provides everything from top command officers to school crossing guards, allowing the city not to have to fund its own police department.
Debate over PBSO contract set for Aug. 18
The Lake Worth Beach city commission is expected to discuss the proposed extension with PBSO on Aug. 18.
The city will also supply a dedicated local district office for the assigned deputies.
Annual cost could total nearly $16 million for the contract. Additional law enforcement services are billed at hourly rates of $142 for a deputy and $183 for a sergeant.
READ MORE: 'Leaving us all alone': Border Patrol arrests Lake Worth parents in front of U.S.-born children
Gov. Ron DeSantis has defended the 287(g) agreements with local sheriff's offices, saying that Florida has the most agreements of any state and that Florida accounts for more than 40% of all state/local immigration arrests nationwide.
"Florida remains committed to leading the nation in immigration enforcement, supporting President Trump's mission to secure the border, detain illegal aliens, and carry out deportation operations that protect American communities," DeSantis told reporters in late June.
Representatives from immigrant advocacy groups — including the Guatemalan Mayan Center, Lake Worth All, Indivisible Immigration Coalition, and Community Justice Project — say the city remains a huge target for immigration crackdowns that are breaking apart families.
They noted the high-profile arrest of a community leader and former Mayan language interpreter for the Guatemalan Mayan Center, Olga Perez.
"I lost my mom," her U.S.-born daughter Jessica Perez told reporters during Thursday's press conference. Her father was also deported.
"She got to stay with us for two weeks but for me that wasn’t enough because both have to restart their life in Guatemala."
Renatta Bozzetto, director of the nonprofit Florida Immigration Coalition, speaking next to Father Frank of the Guatemalan Maya Center in Lake Worth Beach | August 13, 2026 (5712x4284, AR: 1.3333333333333333)
Concerns about immigration crackdown, public safety
Current and former elected officials are also raising alarms.
Former Lake Worth Beach city commissioner, Kimberly Stokes, said the city needs "a more comprehensive approach to public health and safety in this town that makes everybody who lives here feel safe and protected."
"This [PBSO] contract does not do that. So we're asking them to not move forward with this contract."
Stokes also raised concerns over mass surveillance cameras, such as Flock license plate readers, used to surveil residents and tourists, especially immigrants.
Lake Worth Beach commissioner Christopher McVoy told WLRN he disagrees with the current police contract and said taxpayer funds must be used "wisely to best keep our city safe."
McVoy said data from the National Library of Medicine and the Center for American Progress, said local and federal partnerships to enforce immigration laws do not reduce crime.
"Instead, across the nation, it has eroded security, damaged community trust, and increased the risk of expensive litigation," he added. "I hope my colleagues will agree to significantly modify our PBSO contract to keep our community safer."