Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew rejects White House portrayal of her after ICE arrest

The Brazilian-born mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew – who was recently detained by US immigration authorities – has rejected the Trump administration’s characterizations of her as an absentee parent.

Bruna Ferreira, who was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in November during a traffic stop in Massachusetts and was being held at a Louisiana detention center, said in an interview with the Washington Post that the White House’s statements that she had never lived with her son or spoken with Leavitt “in many years” were incorrect.

Ferreira, 33, had a relationship with Leavitt’s brother, 35-year-old Michael Leavitt. They had a son, Michael Leavitt Jr, aged 11.

She said she was offended by the White House’s characterizations, calling them “disgusting”. She said she takes her son to Dave & Buster’s, a food and video games chain; ferries him to school, cheers at sports games; and fills his bedroom with “everything a young boy needs.”

Ferreira told the Post that she also “moved mountains” to ensure her son could attend Karoline Leavitt’s wedding to real estate developer Nicholas Riccio in early January. Ferreira also said she approved her son to attend the White House Easter egg hunt in the spring.

“I asked Karoline to be godmother [to Michael Jr] over my only sister,” she told the Post. “I made a mistake there, in trusting.

“Why they’re creating this narrative is beyond my wildest imagination.”

The differentiated accounts came as Ferreira was released on a $1,500 bond Monday after immigration judge Cynthia Goodman ordered that she be freed on the lowest-dollar bail possible, according to her lawyers. Attorney Jason Thomas told the judge that the government’s characterization of his client was “both unfair and untrue”.

A lawyer representing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not object to Ferreira’s release and said he agreed with her lawyers that she is not a danger to society or a flight risk, the Washington Post reported.

A DHS spokesperson confirmed Ferreira’s detention in November followed a prior arrest for battery. The DHS spokesperson said the tourist visa with which Ferreira gained entry into the US required her to leave on 6 June 1999.

Ferreira came to the US from Brazil with her family she was six years old. DHS officials have not produced records relating to her alleged arrest for battery.

Ferreira’s lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, told the Post his client has no criminal record, with immigration authorities possibly alluding to an incident when she was summoned to juvenile court after a fight outside a Dunkin’ Donuts over $8 in 2008. Pomerleau said the case was dismissed and did not amount to criminality because Ferreira, then 16, was a juvenile.

She told the outlet that she had met the elder Michael Leavitt at a nightclub. They fell in love, got engaged, had a child, and lived together – but instead of marrying they broke up in 2015 and have since shared parenting responsibilities.

Ferreira has alleged in court documents that her son’s father had threatened in the past to try to get her deported. Leavitt, in a text exchange with the Post, denied seeking to have her deported.

“I had no involvement in her being picked up by ice,” he reportedly wrote Wednesday to the outlet. “I have no control over that and had no involvement in that whatsoever.” He also said that he wants their son “to have a relationship with his mother as I always have shown that.”

Ferreira told the Post that other deportees in the detention center had questioned her about her relationship with the White House press secretary, including asking: “Did she not like you?”

“Your guess is as good as mine,” Ferreira said she responded.