President Donald Trump considers illegal immigration one of the biggest threats to the United States and has pushed for tougher action against anyone living in the country without legal status.
But now, those hard-line policies are having consequences for people close to the White House’s top leadership.
Came in 1998
The situation surrounding Bruna Ferreira — the mother of Karoline Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew — has drawn national attention after she was detained by ICE as part of the Trump administration’s ongoing immigration crackdown.
Ferreira, who came to the U.S. from Brazil as a child in 1998 on a tourist visa that later expired, is currently being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.
According to officials, she faces removal proceedings and could be deported back to Brazil. DHS stated that she previously had an arrest for battery and that, under current policy, anyone unlawfully in the country is subject to deportation.
A White House official confirmed the family connection to WBUR but emphasized that Leavitt had “no involvement whatsoever in this matter.”
Launched a fundraiser
Ferreira was previously in a relationship with Michael Leavitt, the brother of the White House Press Secretary, and the two share an 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Jr.
One administration source told Daily Beat that Ferreira hasn’t been in contact with Leavitt’s brother Michael for years, and that their son, Michael Jr., has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since birth.
Michael Leavitt himself stressed that his “only concern has always been the safety, wellbeing, and privacy” of his son.
The case became public after Ferreira’s sister launched a GoFundMe, describing the family’s distress and insisting Ferreira has worked hard to maintain her life in the U.S., including participating in the DACA program.
She argued that Bruna has “always strived to do the right thing” and said her detention has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son, who hopes she will be home for the holidays.
ICE confirmed that Ferreira was taken into custody in Massachusetts earlier this month. While officials maintain she is subject to removal, her family is now trying to raise money for legal representation to fight her deportation.
Although the Trump administration has vowed large-scale deportations, ICE has not consistently made its deportation numbers public, NBC News reports.
In a briefing to Congress last year, the agency said that as of July, it had identified about 435,000 undocumented immigrants with criminal convictions who were still living in the U.S. and not in custody.
