PHOTO ESSAY: An influx of immigrants boosted Orlando’s economy but many now fear detention

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Hundreds of thousands of immigrants came to Florida in recent years as immigration surged under former President Joe Biden.

In Orlando, immigrants settled throughout the area. They found work in the booming construction industry, as well as in agriculture, transportation, utilities and manufacturing. Many work in restaurants and hotels and as taxi drivers. Some started their own businesses.

Paola Freites and her husband were drawn to the Orlando area by warm temperatures, a large Latino community and the ease of finding employment and housing. Freites and her husband fled violence in Colombia with their three children. After entering the U.S. in 2024, they moved to Apopka, an agricultural city near Orlando, where they rent a mobile home from her sister-in-law.

“We came here looking for freedom, to work. We don’t like to be given anything for free,” said Freites, who asked that The Associated Press identify her by her middle and second last name for fear of her mother’s safety in Colombia.

They requested asylum and obtained work permits. She is now a housekeeper at a hotel in Orlando, a tourist destination with more than a dozen theme parks, including Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld. Her husband works at a plant nursery.

No state has been more affected by the increase in immigrants than Florida, according to internal government data obtained by the AP. Florida had 1,271 migrants who arrived from May 2023 to January 2025 for every 100,000 residents, followed by New York, California, Texas and Illinois.

The data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which must verify addresses of everyone who is allowed to enter the U.S. and stay to pursue an immigration case, shows Miami was the most affected metropolitan area in the U.S. with 2,191 new migrants for every 100,000 residents. Orlando ranked 10th with 1,499 new migrants for every 100,000 residents.

The CBP data captured obtained by AP the stated U.S. destinations for 2.5 million migrants who crossed the border.

As more immigrants arrived in Orlando, businesses catering to newer arrivals opened in shopping areas with Mexican and Puerto Rican shops. Venezuelan restaurants selling empanadas and arepas opened in the same plaza as a Mexican supermarket that offers tacos and enchiladas. Churches began offering more Masses in Spanish and in Creole, which Haitians speak.

As the population increased, apartments, shopping centers, offices and warehouses replaced many of the orange groves and forests that once surrounded Orlando.

Luis, an aspiring entrepreneur with a degree in mechanical engineering, fled Venezuela after being an opposition political activist as a university student. He was granted a long-term work permit, allowing him to support himself as an Amazon delivery driver as he goes through the legal asylum process. He asked to be identified by only his first name because he fears his parents’ safety in Venezuela.

After President Donald Trump returned to office in January, anxiety spread through many immigrant communities. Florida, a Republican-led state, has worked to help the Trump administration with its immigration crackdown and has enacted laws targeting illegal immigration.

Despite a big increase in Orlando’s Venezuelan population, Dario Romero, co-owner of Venezuelan restaurant TeqaBite, says the restaurant has recently struggled to fill jobs and business is down.

Some immigrants lost their legal status and work permits under Trump. Others who have pending immigration procedures are too fearful to venture out of the house except to go to and from work.

Blanca, a 38-year-old single mother from Mexico who crossed the border with her three children in July 2024, said she came to Central Florida because four nephews who were living in the area told her it was a peaceful place where people speak Spanish. The math teacher, who has requested asylum, insisted on being identified only by her first name because she fears deportation.

In July 2025, immigration officials placed an electronic bracelet on her ankle to monitor her.

Because a friend of hers was deported after submitting a work permit request, she has not asked for one herself, she said.

“It’s scary,” she said. “Of course it is.”

This is a documentary photo story curated by AP photo editors.