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Woman with family connections to White House press secretary detained by ICE in Revere

Bruna Caroline Ferreria is the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt speaks with reporters at the White House. Evan Vucci / AP, File

November 26, 2025

2 minutes to read

A woman who has ties to the family of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt was detained by ICE agents in Massachusetts earlier this month, according to her lawyer and White House officials.

Bruna Caroline Ferreria, a Brazilian national who lives in Revere, is the mother of Leavitt’s nephew. The two women have not spoken in many years. Ferreria’s son has lived in New Hampshire full-time with his father since he was born and has never resided with Ferreria, according to a source familiar with the matter.

Ferreria was detained by ICE on the afternoon of Nov. 12 soon after she left her house in Revere. She was on her way to southern New Hampshire to pick her son up from school.

Ferreria was pulled over, asked who she was, and then taken to New Hampshire and Vermont by ICE. She was eventually flown to a detention center in Louisiana. Ferreria was never told why she was being detained, according to her attorney, Todd Pomerleau.

Ferreria came to the U.S. from Brazil as a kindergartener on a visa alongside her parents. She later received protection under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals immigration program, Pomerleau said.

“ICE arrested Bruna Caroline Ferreria, a criminal illegal alien from Brazil. She has a previous arrest for battery. She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999. She is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings. Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation,” a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Wednesday.

Pomerleau expressed skepticism at the government’s claims about Ferreria.

“There’s some narrative out there that she has a criminal record. We can’t find it anywhere. I don’t believe it exists,” he said.

Pomerleau sought to push back on narratives that he has seen in the media portraying Ferreria as a “deadbeat.”

“She’s a loving mom and he’s a loving father. Like countless others, their relationship didn’t pan out,” he said.

Leavitt is a New Hampshire native and one of the most high-profile defenders of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Her brother, Michael Leavitt Sr., and Ferreira broke up more than 10 years ago, per The Boston Globe. He released a statement to media outlets on Tuesday saying that his “only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of [his] son.”

Pomerleau does not believe that the White House had anything to do with Ferreria’s specific detainment, or that she was targeted by federal officials. But he acknowledged the connection to Leavitt and said that the Trump administration should release Ferreria and give her the opportunity to reunite with family on Thanksgiving.

“It shouldn’t matter who she might be related to or could have been related to, equal protection of the law applies to all people. Due process of law applies to all people including noncitizens,” he said.

An online fundraiser set up to help cover Ferreria’s legal expenses had raised more than $21,000 as of Wednesday afternoon.