Detained relative blasts Karoline Leavitt from ICE custody: 'I made a mistake there, in trusting'

WASHINGTON, DC: The mother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, identified as 33 year old Brazilian national Bruna Ferreira, has come out swinging from inside the custody of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

She sharply rebukes Leavitt for what she calls “disgusting” attempts to cast her as an absentee parent and says the framing pushed by White House-aligned voices has been both false and hurtful.

Ferreira, detained last month in Massachusetts, says she once had a close relationship with Leavitt and now regrets trusting her.

Bruna Ferreira’s detention and early statements

Ferreira, who came to the United States at age six, was reportedly picked up by ICE agents in Revere, Massachusetts, while on her way to pick up her 11-year-old son from school. Her attorney told media outlets she was later transferred to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.

In a recent interview with Washington Post, Ferreira said she had considered Leavitt “like a younger sister” and added ruefully, “I made a mistake there, in trusting."

She also disputes the narrative being circulated by certain White House-aligned sources that she had been distant from the family for years. Ferreira said that just weeks before her arrest, she was at a recreational football game with her son, cheering him on while standing alongside Leavitt’s parents and brother.

Ferreira added that she had even asked Leavitt to be her son’s godmother over her own sister, saying, “Why they’re creating this narrative is beyond my wildest imagination.”

Bruna Ferreira’s family ties and deportation fight

The case complicates the public profile of Leavitt, a prominent supporter of aggressive immigration enforcement under the Trump-era administration. Publicly, Leavitt’s office and several White House-aligned sources have distanced her from Ferreira, claiming they had not been in touch for years and portraying Ferreira as a “criminal illegal alien.”

A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said Ferreira overstayed a tourist visa that expired in 1999 and had a prior arrest for battery, though no publicly available court records back up that allegation, according to Ferreira’s lawyer.

Ferreira’s legal team emphasizes her long-time residency in the United States, noting she was brought to the country as a young child and had at times been protected under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). Her lawyer argues the arrest and detention amounted to a targeted, unjustified operation.

Reports suggest a contentious custody history between Ferreira and Leavitt’s brother, Michael, including past threats by him to call immigration authorities. Ferreira’s lawyer says that after their split, Michael and other family members urged her to “self-deport,” which could trigger legal consequences under US immigration law.

Since her detention, Ferreira’s relatives have launched a fundraising campaign to help cover legal fees. The effort has drawn public attention to her case, even as she remains in ICE custody under removal proceedings.