MARTIN COUNTY, Fla. — Nearly 100 days into President Donald Trump’s return to the White House, his immigration policies are already reshaping life across Florida — a critical battleground state in the national immigration debate.
While federal agents report a drop in migrant crossings across the country, local law enforcement and community advocates are seeing a very different picture — one marked by fear, disruption, and growing tension.
WATCH: Authorities tell WPTV's Kate Hussey how new initiatives 'impact local law enforcement'
Rallies sound off in Indian River County in reaction to ICE arrests.
‘It's been a very frightening time for our community,” said protest organizer, Elizabeth Gallegos.
Fear builds in immigrant communities after joint ICE operations in Martin County.
“Everybody is scared," said Inez Pacheco, of Indiantown.
The reaction comes as sweeping reform launched across Florida soon after Trump took office, including the launch of the 287g program,a U.S. Homeland Security initiative launched in February.
WATCH BELOW: Protest held in Vero Beach over ICE arrests, deportations
“They’re sick of having an open border and they’re sick of the rule of law being ignored,” Gov. Ron DeSantis said at a press conference, announcing the initiative.
“I really think it’s going to impact local law enforcement,” Martin County Sheriff’s Office Maj. Rueben Romero told WPTV.
The program gives local and state officers authority, traditionally held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement, allowing them to do what they couldn’t do before.
That includes detaining undocumented migrants, issuing immigration warrants, and making federal arrests, when before, deputies said their hands were often tied.
“That was kind of a scary time. We would have people with sexual abuse charges bond themselves out and they're gone,” Romero said. “We want to target the criminal, illegal aliens. That gives us another tool in our tool bag to affect that arrest.”
WATCH: St. Lucie County Sheriff Richard Del Toro speaks on efforts to further crack down on illegal immigration
WPTV requested the current ICE holdsin the Martin County Jail. Of the 47 currently in jail, at least a third were held on violent crime warrants, eight of which involved sex crimes against children.
On the water, Marine Deputy John Wilkes said the initiative will directly impact his role in immigration enforcement.
His mission is to monitor Florida’s coast and identify boats that signal danger — or desperation.
“And the biggest change for us is right now, when we stop a boat coming from the Bahamas, we have the authority to search the vessel,” said Wilkes.
Lately, they’ve had plenty to search, and Wilkes believes the increase in sea patrols may be tied to changes at the southern border.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection reports a national drop in migrant encounters: 29,065 in March of this year.
WATCH: Missing woman's siblings say they 'hope she appears alive'
By comparison, in March of 2022, 2023, and 2024, migrant encounters each topped 250,000.
Yet Wilkes said he’s seen about a dozen migrant boats across Palm Beach County in just the past few months — most recently, one fatal voyage from the Bahamas, when deputies said a boat with nine people capsized off Martin County shores. Only four survived.
“Yeah, not one of our better days out here,” sighed Wilkes. “But as far as migrants, we've definitely seen an influx in them. They’re trying to find different avenues to come into the United States via the Bahamas.”
That desperation reaches well beyond the water. On land, fear is growing in migrant communities across Florida.
“The community became afraid,” said Renatta Bozzetto with the Florida Immigrant Coalition.
Employee tells WPTV how retail shop has seen a dramatic drop in customers
She sees that fear bleed into every corner of the economy.
As WPTV previously reported, immigrant-run businesses are shuttered. Deserted.
“Nobody’s coming!” Said Ana Velasquez of Latin Work Wear in Lake Worth Beach.
Farms are short on labor.
Rick Roth, the president of Roth farms in Belle Glade, told WPTV’s Joel Lopez in January immigration initiatives have made it more expensive to hire workers, while demand and fear has left fewer workers to go around.
WPTV Reporter Joel Lopez speaks to Roth Farms President Rick Roth on the impacts of H-2A visas
“People that haven’t been taken are choosing to leave, because of fear of deportation,” said farm crew leader, Juan Lara Leon.
Empty desks in classrooms speak for themselves.
Though attendance records in Martin, Okeechobee, St. Lucie and Indian River school districts appeared to show no significant drop as of March, in February, some Martin County Schools saw less than half their students show up.
“We have noticed that our numbers are nowhere near where we would like them to be,” Jennifer DeShazo, with the Martin County School District, told WPTV’s Jon Shainman.
“We are seeing our neighbors who are immigrants are living in a moment of fear and uncertainty,” Bozzetto said. “And people need to realize that they are being impacted by it, if not directly, indirectly, because this is a very critical labor force, especially in the services industry.”
According to the Florida Policy Institute, nearly 400,000 undocumented immigrants work in six key statewide industries, accounting for over $12 billion in wages.
WATCH BELOW: Discussion held on local immigration enforcement
Those industries include construction, food services, retail, entertainment and agriculture, and according to the Migrant Policy Institute, nearly 40% of home health aides are immigrants. Several of those are suspected to be undocumented.
“Here in Palm Beach County, so many nursing homes are powered by Haitian migrants on temporary work authorization. What will happen with our elderly when we don't have that care labor available to us?” asked Bozzetto.
Now as pressure continues to mount, the line between enforcement and empathy grows increasingly blurred.
“Yeah, it could cause some panic, some fear, but here in Martin County, our deputies are very sympathetic to the situation,” Romero said. “We're not here to just look for people that are illegal. We're here for criminal illegal aliens.”
Law enforcement officers across Florida are still awaiting training to operate as ICE agents, which now includes several campus police departments.
One of those isFlorida Atlantic University— a move that continues to stir debate.
