LAKE WORTH BEACH — After seven months in immigration detention, Olga Perez came home on June 18. She won't be staying long.Perez is one of the few translators of an indigenous Mayan dialect in Florida. She has spent the last 20 years working with police departments, the courts and nonprofits statewide. Her work even helped to spare a Guatemalan immigrant from a murder conviction for a crime he didn't commit.The Guatemala-born mother of four U.S.-born children is undocumented and has agreed to self-deport by July 5, returning to a country she fled almost 30 years ago.Efforts by the Guatemala-Mayan Center brought Perez back to Lake Worth Beach from detention in Eloy, Arizona, a city midway between Phoenix and Tuscon. A federal immigration judge is allowing her to spend two weeks with her family before she must leave.That was reason enough for a surprise, bittersweet celebration at the center on June 18. Perez was received with applauses, shrieks of joy and a standing ovation by the staff, many of whom she has helped work with recent immigrants. Everyone took turns hugging Perez, holding her with tight, long embraces. There was not a single dry eye in the room."Detention was a nightmare," Perez said in Spanish, bursting into tears. "But I am finally home, at least for now."The Rev. Frank O'Loughlin, who founded the center in the 1980s, wrapped his arms around Perez, drew a cross on her forehead and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek."Valiente, valiente," O'Loughlin said, invoking the Spanish word for "brave." He added: "God has gone wherever Olga has gone."ICE took translator into custody after traffic stop on I-95 near Lake WorthFather Frank O'Loughlin, founder of the Guatemalan-Mayan Center in Lake Worth, left, embraces Olga Perez, right, at the center In Lake Worth Beach, Fla., on June 18, 2026. Perez was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center near Phoenix, Ariz., earlier this week. Perez elected to self-deport to her native Guatemala in early July. Perez is one of few indigenous Mam language interpreters in the state.Perez, 47, had been in custody since November, when the Florida Highway Patrol pulled over her family's landscaping truck on Interstate 95 near Lake Worth Beach. Perez does not have a criminal record and was not driving the vehicle when FHP deputies detained her in front of two of her children who were in the truck with her.She arrived in the U.S. in 1997 after Guatemala's civil war and genocide on indigenous communities devastated Maya population, including her community. Perez filed for asylum but her case was dismissed and she remained undocumented.Perez is part of a growing number of cases of undocumented immigrants who land in detention for months without having criminal records as part of President Donald Trump's promise to deliver the largest mass deportation in U.S. history.ICE had taken Perez's husband into custody two months before her detention, while he worked a landscaping job in Lake Worth Beach. He was deported to Guatemala this year.Now, their four U.S.-born children will be left to grow up on their own.Children of Mayan translator facing deportation say it's 'a miracle' to see herOlga Perez, second from right, with her children from left, Jessica Perez, Cynthia Perez and Romeo Perez at the Guatemalan-Maya Center In Lake Worth Beach, Fla., on June 18, 2026. Perez was released from an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center near Phoenix, Ariz., earlier this week. Perez elected to self-deport to her native Guatemala in early July. Perez is one of few indigenous Mam language interpreters in the state.Mariana Blanco, Director of the Guatemala-Mayan Center, said the children have struggled to get by without their parents and were devastated after hearing their mother would be deported.Perez's eldest daughter, Eliza, 21, gave up plans to attend Palm Beach State College to run her father's landscaping business to pay rent and cover bills. She also takes care of her siblings, Jessica, 18, Romeo, 15, and Cynthia, 13.The children, however, say they feel blessed they got to see their mother before her departure."It's a miracle," said Romeo, while Perez hugged him and covered his face with kisses.Blanco said Perez is a crucial member of Florida's Guatemalan community by serving as one of the few translators of Mam, one of over 22 indigenous Mayan dialects spoken in Guatemala.Over the last 20 years, Perez helped has translated for victims and investigators at the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office; for students and counselors at local schools and the Children Services Council; for patients and doctors in local hospitals and federally funded health clinics; and in the courts across Florida.Perez on July 5 will fly to Guatemala to live in a remote a village where there are no schools or hospitals, few jobs or not even a reliable WiFi connection. Her voluntary departure will allow to return to the U.S. in the future, Blanco said."I am scared," Perez said in Spanish. "But right now I just want to enjoy the moment and the time I have with my children."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: Lake Worth Beach translator freed from detention, must deport by July