Family of Karoline Leavitt Speak Out After Relative Is Detained by ICE
The family of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew’s mother has spoken out after Bruna Ferreira was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and placed at risk of deportation to Brazil. Ferreira shares an 11-year-old son, Michael Jr., with Leavitt’s brother, Michael. The pair were once engaged but separated more than a decade ago. ICE detained Ferreira in late November, and she has since been held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson told The Daily Beast that Ferreira entered the U.S. on a tourist visa and overstayed, adding that she previously had an arrest for battery. DHS said that under current enforcement policies, individuals unlawfully present in the U.S. are subject to deportation.
Ferreira’s family strongly disputes parts of that account. Her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, told The Boston Globe that Ferreira has lived in the U.S. since she was six years old. “She’s more American than she is anything else,” she said, adding that Brazil no longer feels like home to her.
Rodrigues also claimed that Bob Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt’s father, contacted the family and encouraged Ferreira to “self-deport,” a suggestion she described as unrealistic. She said that Karoline Leavitt herself has not reached out. “If she wanted to help, she would have by now,” Rodrigues said.
Ferreira’s attorney, John J. Loscocco, said she has no criminal convictions and questioned why she was detained, arguing that she poses no risk to the community. The White House press office has been contacted for comment.