Karoline Leavitt’s Relative Arrested by ICE While Picking Up Son: Family Calls for Help
Bruna Ferreira, a family member of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, was arrested by ICE agents earlier this month while trying to pick up her 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Jr., at school in Revere, Massachusetts.
Ferreira, who came to the U.S. from Brazil in 1998 under the DACA program, was described by her sister as “terrified” and “frantic.” Despite telling ICE agents that her son’s aunt works at the White House, she was still taken into custody.
Her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, criticized the boy’s father and grandfather for offering little support, reporting that they told Ferreira to “self-deport” — a suggestion she could not follow. Ferreira is now being held at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
Attorneys representing Ferreira say she has no criminal record and was blindsided by the arrest, which came just before the holidays while she was in the process of applying for residency. “She’s not a criminal,” her lawyer said.
The arrest has deeply affected her son, who lives with his father but maintains a relationship with his mother. Rodrigues shared that Michael Jr. keeps asking when his mother will be home for Thanksgiving and Christmas.
The family has launched a GoFundMe to cover legal expenses, highlighting Ferreira’s long-standing presence in the U.S. and her efforts to maintain legal status and build a stable life.
The case has sparked controversy amid a broader public backlash against ICE. A recent Daily Mail/JL Partners poll showed the agency’s approval rating dropped to 34%, with 45% of voters disapproving of its operations.
