Parents detained by ICE at Florida home, infant left with pastor
Mar 23, 2026·Location: Lakeland, FL
Doris Flores and her husband were taken into immigration detention from their trailer home in Lakeland, Florida, one night in January, leaving their 4-month-old daughter Briany, a U.S. citizen, and her 8-year-old half-sister Briana without a caregiver. Flores turned to the family's pastor, the Rev. Israel Vázquez, and his wife, also a pastor at their Pentecostal church, who took in the girls rather than see them placed in foster care. A ProPublica analysis found the Trump administration has detained the parents of more than 11,000 U.S. citizen children and has deported mothers of U.S. citizens at four times the rate of the previous administration.
Sources
More incidents in Florida
- 20-year-old citizen held in Florida jail despite proof of citizenshipOct 8, 2026 · FL
- Cuban man detained in Florida, deported to Central African Republic, held in BanguiOct 6, 2026 · West Palm Beach, FL
- Nicaraguan exile deported, reimprisoned in same prison where he was previously torturedOct 6, 2026 · Miami, FL
- Man dons ICE costume, intimidates Brazilian election voters in MiamiOct 4, 2026 · Miami, FL
- Cuban man detained by ICE for two months, mother pleads for his releaseOct 3, 2026 · Hialeah, FL
- Detainees sue over conditions at Miramar ICE facility in FloridaOct 2, 2026 · Miramar, FL