Rosa Barrera, at age 18, abruptly became responsible for managing her family’s bills, scheduling doctor’s appointments and caring for her three younger siblings, one of them autistic, late in the evening on Jan. 26.
Barrera assumed the role of her parents overnight because her parents were among those detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement during a targeted operation at Zipps Sports Grill locations across the Phoenix area.
Monica Jimenez and Jose Barrera, Rosa’s parents, were two of 35 undocumented immigrants who immigration authorities took into custody as part of a probe alleging that the 14 locations of Zipps Sports Grill restaurants in Arizona were employing undocumented immigrants to staff their kitchens. The couple worked as kitchen staff at the 32nd Street and Shea Boulevard location in Phoenix…