A Brazilian woman with family ties to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and is facing deportation. The woman, Bruna Ferreira, has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Ms. Leavitt’s brother.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesman described Ms. Ferreira as a “criminal illegal alien from Brazil.”

“She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999. She has a previous arrest for battery,” the spokesman said in a statement. “Under President Trump and [Department of Homeland Security] Secretary [Kristi] Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”

However, Ms. Ferreira’s lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, disputes the claims. “Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever,” Mr. Pomerleau told WCVB. “I don’t know where that is coming from. Show us the proof. There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal illegal alien.” 

Mr. Pomerleau also argued that Ms. Ferreira maintained legal status under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, an Obama-era initiative shielding immigrants who arrived as children from deportation. “She’s in the process of actually getting her green card and she was abruptly arrested and taken from her young child right before Thanksgiving,” he said.

Ms. Ferreira was arrested at Revere, Massachusetts, and is currently in custody at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center. Her family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal fees, which has so far raised more than $17,000 of its $30,000 goal.

Her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, who started the fundraising page, wrote, “Bruna was brought to the United States by our parents in December of 1998, when she was just a child, entering on a visa. Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here. She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.”

“Her absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Junior, who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays,” she wrote.

Ms. Leavitt, who at 28 is the country’s youngest White House press secretary in history, has not commented on the matter. A source familiar with the situation told WCVB that Ms. Leavitt has not spoken to Ms. Ferreira in many years.

“This individual is the mother of Karoline’s nephew. The child has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother,” the source said.

In his own statement, Michael Leavitt told WBUR, “My only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son.” He confirmed his son lives with him full-time but that Ms. Ferreira has maintained a relationship with the child, who has not spoken to his mother since her arrest several weeks ago.
In 2014, Michael Leavitt won $1 million in a DraftKings fantasy football contest, the Cullman Times reported. At the time, he was engaged to Ms. Ferreira, and their son was eight months old. When asked what she would do with the money, Ms. Ferreira told the paper, “I need the lights fixed on the back of my car. And we need a lamp for my son’s room. Other than that we don’t really need much. We have our health. We have a nice condo. We really are blessed.”