The mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew is in immigration custody after being detained earlier this month.
Bruna Caroline Ferreira was arrested on Nov. 12 in Revere, Massachusetts, a city just north of Boston, according to reporting by CNN and CNN affiliate WMUR.
Ferreira shares her son with Leavitt’s brother, Michael Leavitt. CNN reported that she was driving to pick up her son from Michael’s home in New Hampshire when she was stopped and taken into custody.
In a statement, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that Ferreira, who was born in Brazil, had been arrested and said that her tourist visa expired in 1999.
“She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999,” the spokesperson said.
The spokesperson also alleged that Ferreira “has a previous arrest for battery,” though further details about that incident were unclear. WBUR, a public broadcaster and news outlet affiliated with Boston University, reported that it was unable to locate any criminal charges associated with her in Massachusetts’ online database.
Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, pushed back on the allegation, telling WMUR, “Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever.”
“Show us the proof. There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal, illegal alien, we’re hearing that said about anyone who’s not a U.S. citizen,” he added.
A source familiar with the situation said that Ferreira’s son has been living full-time in New Hampshire with Michael and has never lived with Ferreira. The source also said that Ferreira and Karoline “have not spoken in many years.”
The Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said that Ferreira “is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings.”
They added, “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”
Pomerleau told CNN that Ferreira was previously protected under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy, which applies to certain immigrants brought to the United States as children. He said she had been engaged in a “lawful immigration process” to obtain citizenship.
According to Pomerleau, Ferreira was unable to renew her DACA status after Donald Trump unsuccessfully sought to end the program during his first term in office.
Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, launched a GoFundMe campaign to help the family as they fight to prevent her deportation.
“Bruna was brought to the United States by our parents in December of 1998, when she was just a child, entering on a visa. Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here. She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing,” Rodrigues wrote in the fundraiser description.
She continued, “Anyone who knows Bruna knows the kind of person she is. She is hardworking, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it. Whether it’s supporting family, friends, or even strangers, Bruna has a heart that puts others before herself.”
Rodrigues also said that Bruna’s “absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son,” writing that he “needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays.”
Michael Leavitt spoke to WMUR, confirming the situation and saying that his son has not had contact with Ferreira since she was detained. He described the experience as “difficult,” adding that his primary concern is his son’s safety and emotional well-being.
Ferreira’s detention comes amid a broader immigration crackdown that began at the start of Trump’s second term in office.
During a Nov. 2 interview with 60 Minutes, the Republican president said that ICE raids “haven’t gone far enough,” claiming that his administration had been “held back by the… by the judges, by the liberal judges that were put in by Biden and by Obama.”
