Children watch father surrender to ICE, FHP at Lake Worth bakery

Federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents took the owner of a Guatemalan bakery into custody on July 9 after an incident on Lucerne Avenue in Lake Worth Beach.

Jacob Zapeta Castro has an asylum case pending before U.S. immigration officials, family members said. They said he has a work permit, a Social Security number and a driver's license. It was not immediately clear if he remained in detention on July 12 or what charges he might be facing.

A spokesperson for ICE said agents saw cause to stop Zapeta Castro's car and tried to do so, and that he tried to ram their vehicle with his. They said he then fled into his bakery and "barricaded" himself inside.

Family members and leaders of the Guatemalan-Maya Center in Lake Worth Beach, however, said Zapeta Castro was driving his children to a medical appointment when he saw ICE and Florida Highway Patrol officers in the area. They said he turned his car around to return to the bakery, locking the door behind him to protect his employees.

It was not clear who ICE or FHP might have been looking for inside the bakery.

Zapeta Castro's children remained in his vehicle when he entered the store. He surrendered in part to allow them to be released to family members who had arrived at the scene, his family said.

The incident comes as the Trump administration has made a priority of removing immigrants without documentation from the U.S. Upon taking office for his second term in January 2025, President Donald Trump called for the largest mass deportation in the nation's history, targeting criminals.

Tom Elia is an editor at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach him at telia@pbpost.com. Support local journalism: Subscribe today.

Valentina Palm covers immigration and West Palm Beach for The Palm Beach Post. Email her at vpalm@pbpost.com and follow her on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, at @ValenPalmB.

This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: Children watch father surrender to ICE, FHP at Lake Worth bakery

Reporting by Tom Elia and Valentina Palm, Palm Beach Post / Palm Beach Post

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect

This story was originally published July 12, 2026 at 9:32 AM.