ICE detains relative of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt
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US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have detained Bruna Caroline Ferreira, an extended family member of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, drawing attention amid the Trump administration’s intensified immigration enforcement efforts.
Ms. Ferreira, a Brazilian national and the former partner of Press Secretary Leavitt’s brother, Michael Leavitt, is also the mother of the Press Secretary’s 11-year-old nephew. She was taken into custody earlier this month in Revere, Massachusetts, and is currently held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center while facing removal proceedings.
Conflicting Accounts of Status and Criminal History
The detention has prompted conflicting claims regarding Ms. Ferreira’s immigration status and legal background.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) described her as a “criminal illegal alien from Brazil” who overstayed a tourist visa that expired in June 1999. The spokesperson also cited a prior arrest on suspicion of battery and affirmed that under President Trump and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, “all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”
In contrast, Ms. Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, and her family maintain that she was brought to the U.S. as a child in 1998 and had maintained legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. Mr. Pomerleau said she has “no criminal record whatsoever” and was actively pursuing residency when she was arrested. Her family has launched a public fundraising campaign to cover legal fees for her defense.
Official Responses and Family Ties
The high-profile connection to Press Secretary Leavitt has brought additional scrutiny to the case. Leavitt has declined to comment, and sources note that she and Ms. Ferreira have not spoken in many years.
Michael Leavitt, the Press Secretary’s brother and father of Ms. Ferreira’s child, told WBUR, “My only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son.”
The case underscores the administration’s broader approach to immigration enforcement, which has included an increase in arrests nationwide, including of individuals with ties to DACA.
