Yoana Pleitez Romero should be looking forward to winter courses at Bunker Hill Community College. But instead, she has a long list of things to do.
Take her three little sisters to school. Go to her full-time clinic receptionist job. Talk to a lawyer. Drive for Uber Eats. Pick up the kids. Figure out where her stepdad is. Look for a third job. Not necessarily in that order.
“It’s hectic,” she said.
The 22-year-old has suddenly become the head of her household. On Saturday, Sept. 27, her stepfather was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Romero is one of a growing number of young adults and teenagers who have had to take over as the breadwinner when a parent or loved one is arrested by ICE — and in some cases, even deported.
“We are increasingly seeing the devastating results of this mass deportation effort, which is children raising children,” said Heather Yountz, senior immigration attorney at Mass Law Reform Institute. “What do the children do when their mom disappears?”
ICE has detained thousands of immigrants in Massachusetts since President Donald Trump’s inauguration. In May alone, nearly 1,500 people were detained in a concentrated operation. Nearly half had no criminal charges or convictions, according to the Department of Homeland Security.
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Featured Photo: Yoana Pleitez Romero sits on a bunk bed with her sisters at their East Boston apartment on Oct. 3, 2025.
Photo by Sarah Betancourt, GBH News
Publisher’s Note: GBH and Massachusetts Latino News (MALN) are partners in providing greater visibility and voice to local Hispanic-Latinos communities.