Karoline Leavitt’s nephew’s mother detained by US immigration agents

Karoline Leavitt’s nephew’s mother has been detained by US immigration agents in Revere, Massachusetts, as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

Bruna Ferreira, a Boston-area resident who migrated with her family to the US from Brazil as a child, is now in custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Louisiana, according to Boston radio station WBUR, which first reported the arrest.

The White House press secretary’s brother, Michael Leavitt, 35, had a relationship with Ferreira, 33, and they had a son, Michael Leavitt Jr, aged 11.

Ferreira was leaving her home to pick up her son from school in New Hampshire when her car was “suddenly swarmed” by ICE agents, according to the Boston Globe. Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, told the outlet that the agents demanded her name and driver’s license, but Ferreira did not have an identification card.

“They were not the most gentle with her,” she told the Globe.

“I’m sure my sister was terrified, frantic. She’s been here since she was six years old. She’s more American than she is anything else. I’m sure she tried to just use whatever she could come up with in the moment. However, it didn’t really help very much.”

A White House source familiar with the situation said: “This individual is the mother of Karoline’s nephew and they have not spoken in many years. The child has lived full time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother.”

Separately, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson confirmed that “ICE arrested Bruna Caroline Ferreria, a criminal illegal alien from Brazil. She has a previous arrest for battery. She entered the US on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the US by 6 June 1999. She 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.”

Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security spokesperson, said in a statement to WBUR that Ferreira had a “previous arrest for battery”.

Neither the record of Ferreira’s arrest record or how any charges were resolved were immediately available.

At a minimum, Ferreira’s detention and likely deportation has brought home the close or casual connections many Americans have to the administration’s immigration crackdown.

Leavitt, the 28-year-old New Hampshire native, is best known for her high-ranking role as Trump’s spokesperson. Leavitt began her career interning at Fox News in 2016 before serving in the communications office during Trump’s first term.

When Trump entered office for a second time in January, Leavitt made history by becoming the youngest-ever White House press secretary.

Less is known about her brother except that he won $1m in a DraftKings fantasy sports contest in 2014, according to The North Andover Eagle Tribune. At the time, the newspaper said, Leavitt and Ferreira were engaged and their son was eight months old.

In a statement to WBUR, Leavitt said: “My only concern has always been the safety, wellbeing, and privacy of my son.”

Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told CNN that his client had been arrested on 12 November and was currently in the middle of a “lawful immigration process” for US citizenship.

Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, has now started a GoFundMe page to help with legal costs to fight the ICE charges and permit her sister to stay in the US.

Ferreira has maintained her legal status through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a program which grants temporary protection from deportation for those who entered the country as children, according to the post.

Ferreira has “followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing”, according to her sister’s GoFundMe page. As of Wednesday morning, more than $16,000 has been raised.

“She is hardworking, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it,” Dos Santos Rodrigues wrote. “Whether it’s supporting family, friends, or even strangers, Bruna has a heart that puts others before herself.”

The Associated Press reported Tuesday that DACA recipients have been among those detained in immigration sweeps, although steps taken by Trump to end DACA during his first term were blocked by the supreme court.

In a recent statement to the Associated Press, McLaughlin said those with status under the Obama-era program “are not automatically protected from deportations”, adding, “DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.”