Earlier this month, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detained Bruna Caroline Ferreira — a Brazilian national with a family connection to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt — putting a personal story at the center of the United States Department of Homeland Security’s aggressive immigration-enforcement campaign.
According to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson, Ferreira entered the U.S. on a B-2 tourist visa, which required departure by June 1999 and later overstayed that visa for decades. According to WBAL, the agency also noted she had a prior arrest for battery. It’s unclear if prosecutors filed criminal charges. According to WBUR, her attorney said she has no criminal record.
DHS ‘swarmed’ Ferreira, her family says
According to multiple news sources, DHS arrested Ferreira in Revere, Massachusetts, in what her family describes as a “swarm” by DHS agents while driving to pick up her son. She is now held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, pending removal proceedings.
Ferreira is the mother of Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew. Reportedly, the child has lived full-time with his father — Leavitt’s brother — since birth. A spokesperson for the White House said Leavitt had no involvement in the enforcement action.
Ferreria is not a “criminal illegal alien,” her attorney says
Defending his client, Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, criticized the government’s portrayal of her as a “criminal illegal alien.” Her attorney and family members also claim Ferreira migrated to the U.S. from Brazil as a child and had previously benefited from the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. They say she was seeking lawful permanent-resident status.
Deep roots in Massachusetts
Her family says she has deep roots in her Massachusetts community, having lived in the U.S. since childhood, worked, raised her son, and been continuously involved in the family. Her attorney argues she poses no flight risk or danger and that the transfer to Louisiana — more than 1,600 miles from her home, family, and legal support — severely impedes her ability to contest the case. Ferreira’s sister described her sister’s DHS encounter as abrupt and frightening: Officers demanded her name and license, which she did not have on hand, per the Boston Globe.
Advocates and some family members frame the detention as emblematic of a broader dynamic under the current administration’s “all-are-subject-to-removal” enforcement policy: Once prioritized for crackdowns, even long-standing community members and those with prior protections can suddenly face deportation. At this writing, Ferreira remains in ICE custody in Louisiana as her lawyers prepare for a bond hearing or potential appeal, and her family mobilizes support to fight for her release
Published: Nov 27, 2025 06:23 am