White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has repeatedly defended ICE and its agents amid allegations of misconduct and human rights violations.
Now, Leavitt is closer to the story than ever amid reports that a woman with whom she shares family ties has been arrested by the agency.
Multiple outlets have now confirmed that Bruna Caroline Ferreira, a Brazil native and the mother of Leavitt’s nephew, has been arrested.
Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, tells CNN that the arrest took place near Boston on November 12.
Though not a blood relative of Leavitt’s, Ferreira is reportedly the mother of Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew.
Ferreira was previously engaged to Karoline’s brother, Michael Leavitt.
The press secretary has not publicly responded to news of the arrest.
But Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, has lashed out at Leavitt in comments to the Boston Globe.
“If she were to help in any way, if she were willing to do anything to help us, she would have reached out by now. She has my phone number. We’ve been family for the last 13 years,” Dos Santos Rodrigues told the Globe.
“I understand the policies and how it looks. But I also think when it comes to family, you put certain things aside. I don’t care who you work for.”
“This individual is the mother of Karoline’s nephew, and they have not spoken in many years,” a source close to the situation tells The Daily Beast. “The child has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother.”
But that version of the story is contradicted by a 2014 news article obteained by the Daily Beast that describes Michael winning $1 million in a fantasy football contest.
The piece details the engagement between Michael and Bruna, and it states that the couple was living together with their 8-month-old son.
There is also a photo of the family together.
Speaking with CNN, Ferreira’s attorney revealed that she was a recipient of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), which grants temporary protection from deportation for people brought to the US as children.
According to a spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security, Ferreira was in the US illegally after overstaying a tourist visa that required her to leave the country in June 1999. Ferreira “has a previous arrest for battery” and is currently in removal proceedings.
We will have further updates on this developing story as new information becomes available.