White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been personally linked to the brutal ICE raids sweeping America.
Her 11-year-old nephew’s mother, Bruna Ferreira, is now in custody at an ICE facility at Louisiana, facing deportation to Brazil.
Ferreira is the former fiancée of Michael Leavitt, the press secretary’s New Hampshire-based brother. They had a son who they raised together before they split.
Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, has started a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to fight the ICE charges and allow Bruna to remain in Boston. It has now raised over $14,000 of a $30,000 target.
A source familiar to the matter told the Daily Beast that, “This individual is the mother of Karoline’s nephew and they have not spoken in many years. The child has lived full time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother.” The Daily Beast has reached out for additional information on discrepancies in the couple’s living arrangements after a 2014 article on Leavitt winning $1 million referenced an engagement to Ferreira. The couple was living together with their son, who was eight months old, according to the report. The family is also pictured together.
A DHS spokesperson told the Daily Beast that Ferreira was “a criminal illegal alien from Brazil” who is currently at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and is in removal proceedings.
“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,” the spokesperson said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”
WBUR could not find details of battery charges against Bruna Ferreira in Massachusetts’ online court records. The Daily Beast has contacted the DHS for comment.
The station could also not confirm whether the son had only lived with his father after the couple separated, but a family member said the split occurred around 10 years ago.
“I need the lights fixed on the back of my car,” Ferreira told The North Andover Eagle-Tribune at the time. “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.”
In a statement to WBUR, Michael Leavitt said, “My only concern has always been the safety, wellbeing, and privacy of my son.”
The Daily Beast has contacted Michael Leavitt for comment.
The press secretary’s brother appears to have met the president earlier this year. A photo posted to his Facebook page on April 28 shows him alongside Trump in the Oval Office. Leavitt posted the photo with a “Go America” caption.
Comments on the post include, “What a special day for the Leavitt family,” and “Your sister is an inspiration.”
Leavitt has also married a new partner, Kara. She posted a photo in October last year with the caption, “Forever wedding date.”
On the GoFundMe page, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues says her sister is “now fighting to stay in the country she has called home for nearly her entire life.”
Rodrigues says Bruna entered the U.S. with their parents in December 1998 on a visa, and that she has maintained her legal status through a program for people who entered the country as children called Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals.
“Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here... followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.”
She added, “Bruna’s absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son... who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays.”
Rodrigues said the campaign would cover the costs “to give Bruna the best possible chance to return home to her family,” and added, “Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your support, your prayers, and your kindness during this incredibly painful time.”
