The detention of Bruna Caroline Ferreira—a woman with direct familial ties to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt—by U.S. immigration agents in Massachusetts illustrates the extensive focus of the current administration’s enforcement campaign. The arrest, which occurred earlier this month in Revere, Massachusetts, highlights ongoing tensions around immigration policy.
Bruna Caroline Ferreira, the detainee, is the mother of Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew and is the former partner of Leavitt’s brother, Michael Leavitt. Ferreira was taken into custody en route to pick up her son in New Hampshire, according to her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues. Rodrigues described to The Boston Globe that ICE agents surrounded Ferreira’s car and treated her harshly, saying, “I’m sure my sister was terrified, frantic.”
Federal officials state Ferreira overstayed a B-2 tourist visa that expired in June 1999. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson described Ferreira as a “criminal illegal alien from Brazil,” citing a prior battery arrest, though no criminal conviction has been publicly verified. She is currently held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center during her removal proceedings.
Ferreira’s lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, disputes the government’s depiction. He maintains that Ferreira previously had Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) protection and was seeking a change to her immigration status, making the “criminal” label inappropriate. “Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever,” Pomerleau told local media. “I don’t know where that is coming from.”
DACA, instituted in 2012 under President Obama, provides temporary protection from deportation and work authorization to certain undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as children. It does not offer permanent residency or citizenship. Recent DHS guidance emphasizes that DACA recipients are not automatically protected from removal. Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin stated, “DACA does not confer any form of legal status,” warning recipients could be arrested or deported under specific circumstances.
Ferreira’s family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal expenses to challenge her removal and to spotlight her longstanding U.S. ties. The campaign states Ferreira was brought to the United States as a child in 1998 and has spent over twenty years striving for a stable, law-abiding life. It describes her as “hard-working, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it.”
The case has brought renewed attention to the enforcement of DACA and the broader scope of removal proceedings under the current administration. Ferreira’s detention underscores both the risks facing former DACA beneficiaries and the administration’s willingness to apply removal authority to individuals with long-term U.S. residence, as evidenced by multiple recent detentions.
Ferreira’s son, who now lives with his father in New Hampshire, faces uncertainty as a result. According to his father, Michael Leavitt, the boy has not spoken to his mother since her detention; Leavitt declined further comment due to privacy concerns. A source familiar with the situation said the child has never resided with his mother.
As Ferreira’s case proceeds in immigration court, it may draw attention to the effects of strict enforcement on individuals with strong U.S. ties and dependent minors. Ferreira remains detained over a thousand miles from her Massachusetts home while her legal team works to prevent deportation.
