ICE Has Detained the Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew
Federal immigration agents arrested the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew earlier this month, the Boston Globe reports. Bruna Ferreira, who arrived in the U.S. from Brazil at age 6, is currently in custody at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center amid removal proceedings. Leavitt, who has forcefully defended Donald Trump’s mass-deportation agenda, has yet to publicly comment on the case.
Ferreira’s younger sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, told the Globe that the 33-year-old shares a son with Leavitt’s elder brother, Michael Leavitt, to whom she was engaged more than a decade ago. The couple broke up and have joint custody of their son, Michael Jr., who mostly resides in New Hampshire.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement to the Globe that Ferreira “has a previous arrest for battery” and that she overstayed her tourist visa in 1999, when she was 7 years old. Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told WCVB that his client does not have a criminal record, however. “I don’t know where that is coming from. Show us the proof,” he said. “There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal illegal alien.”
Ferreira’s car was swarmed by ICE agents when she was on her way to pick up her son from school in New Hampshire on November 12, Pomerleau told CNN. He added that she was previously a recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, the Obama-era policy that grants temporary protections to immigrants who were brought to the U.S. as children. Pomerleau told CNN that Ferreira lost her status during Trump’s efforts to end the program in his first term and is currently pursuing a “lawful immigration process” for U.S. citizenship.
Ferreira hasn’t been able to talk to her son since she was detained two weeks ago, Michael Leavitt confirmed to WMUR. Dos Santos Rodrigues told the Globe that he and his father, Bob Leavitt, reached out and told her that her sister should voluntarily leave the country she has lived in since she was a small child. “They just kept saying, ‘Tell her to self-deport,’” Dos Santos Rodrigues told the outlet. “Self-deport to where? Brazil is not her home. They’re trying to push it off as a vacation. That’s not a vacation. Bruna barely speaks the language.”
Dos Santos Rodrigues added that she told Ferreira to ignore the suggestion and fight her case instead. Ferreira’s family has set up a GoFundMe to help with legal fees and related expenses.
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