Stop the new predators

On Tuesday, several St. Lucie County businessmen pledged money for a sad purpose: Shipping the body of a husband and father home to Guatemala for burial.

Julio Reyes Paxtore, 32, was beaten to death Friday night in Fort Pierce by at least three and perhaps as many as five robbers whom witnesses described as black youths aged 12 to 18. Mr. Paxtore is the second man killed in Fort Pierce this year during a robbery in which police believe that he was targeted because of his ethnicity. Fort Pierce is not the only community, however, where teen gangs have targeted Guatemalans and other immigrants. On the streets of West Palm Beach and Lake Worth and in neighborhoods of Stuart, Port Salerno, Indiantown and Hobe Sound, gangs call the practice "Guat-bashing."

The victims are Guatemalans and other Central American men who don't speak English, usually are illegal immigrants who carry large amounts of cash. Since they don't have proper identification to deal with banks and fear police because of their illegal immigration status, they become easy targets.

On Feb. 9, Adan Beltran, 23, was killed after several teens tried to rob him behind Azteca Mexican Store in Fort Pierce. One fired a gun after Mr. Beltran, who was from Mexico and worked at the store, told them that they should be in school instead of harassing him. One of the five charged in the Beltran case was supposed to have been sentenced for his role in a series of beatings and robberies in Martin County's Golden Gate neighborhood. The teen had been released from juvenile detention on a technicality when he joined the group accused of killing Mr. Beltran.

The latest victim had ridden his bike to a gas station in Fort Pierce, where he bought a phone card to call his family in Guatemala. After speaking several minutes on a pay phone, he was chased by the assailants and beaten to death. Police are seeking witnesses and information about Mr. Paxtore's death.

Palm Beach and Treasure Coast communities have responded with education programs and banking lessons. Police in some areas have provided extra surveillance. But the problems facing illegal immigrants in South Florida communities obviously have not been solved. Law enforcement must find ways to keep those who live in the shadows because of inaction in Washington from being murdered.