July 23, 2026Updated July 24, 2026, 12:20 p.m. ETU.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement arrested 309 people during a four-day operation in Palm Beach County.Eleven of those arrested had legal violations beyond their immigration status, such as DUI or drug charges.State officials said the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office was one of several agencies that played a role in the effort.U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement officers arrested 309 people during a four-day operation in Palm Beach County, federal officials are reporting.Authorities did not disclose the nationalities of the 309 people arrested. Detained during the time of the operation, which ran from July 6 through July 10, was Jacob Zapeta-Castro, who agents took into custody on July 9 at his Guatemalan bakery in Lake Worth Beach.The Florida State Board of Immigration Enforcement, which announced the arrests, said another person was identified on a suspected terrorist list as a possible Tren de Aragua member. President Donald Trump has often referred to the Venezuelan gang in his push to enforce laws against immigrants in the U.S. without documentation.Only 11 of those arrested had legal violations beyond being undocumentedThe four-day operation however, did not result in the detention of large numbers of people with violent criminal charges. Eleven of the 309 people detained had legal violations — including driving without a license, DUI and drug charges — beyond being in the U.S. without permanent status or legal status.The number of arrests is believed to be the most in an ICE action in Palm Beach County since January 2025, when Trump took office for his second term.Jacob Zapeta-Castro remains in custody as he faces a charge of re-entering the U.S. illegally. His arraignment is scheduled for July 29 in federal court in West Palm Beach.ICE agents took him into custody at his business, the El Quetzal bakery on Lucerne Avenue in Lake Worth Beach, as his children watched. Agents pursued him there following an incident between his truck and an ICE vehicle a quarter mile away. He fled into the business and locked the door behind him. His workers said he did so to protect them from detention.The detentions come after the Trump administration began its latest push regarding undocumented immigrants this spring and summer. Trump promised to deliver during his second term the largest mass deportation in U.S. history, concentrating on those who have committed crimes.Local law-enforcement agencies including PBSO took part, state saysThe state board said the operation was a joint effort between federal, state and local law-enforcement agencies, which made more than 100 agents available to it. One of those agencies was the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office. The board did not specify the role the sheriff's office played in the operation.Sheriff Ric Bradshaw has said his agency would not engage in mass sweeps of neighborhoods, workplaces or schools and would work to arrest only people with criminal records.Anthony Coker, SBIE Executive Director, said the joint operation was possible through the Gov. Ron DeSantis mandated 287(g) agreements under the federal Immigration and Naturalization Act that required all Florida police agencies to work with ICE and to deputize their officers to apprehend people they suspect of being undocumented."Under Governor Ron DeSantis, Florida has perfected a national model on how to implement and execute on 287(g) immigration enforcement efforts,” said Coker in the news release.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.