A Brazilian woman who is the mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew has been detained by ICE and is in deportation proceedings after her Nov. 12 arrest near Boston, CNN reported Wednesday.
Bruna Caroline Ferreira had stayed well beyond a tourist visa that expired in June 1999 and was previously arrested for battery, a Homeland Security spokesperson told the news network.
Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said Ferreira is in a “lawful immigration process” for U.S. citizenship after previously receiving protection from Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policies. In President Donald Trump’s first administration, she was unable to renew her status, according to CNN.
Ferreira and Leavitt, the White House press secretary, haven’t had contact in many years, a source familiar with the matter told HuffPost.
A source told NBC that Ferreira never resided with Leavitt’s nephew and had not spoken with him in years.
But Ferreira’s lawyer told CNN that she was arrested while en route to picking up the boy. She is being held in a Louisiana detention facility.
“Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever,” Pomerleau told WMUR. “I don’t know where that is coming from. Show us the proof. There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal, illegal alien, we’re hearing that said about anyone who’s not a U.S. citizen. .. She should not be sitting in a jail hours away from her family and from her child’s life. She’s a great mom.”
The White House press secretary’s brother, Michael Leavitt, who lives in New Hampshire with his wife and two sons, told WMUR that Ferreira has kept up a relationship with their child, who is 11.
He said he was mostly concerned with his son’s safety, WMUR reported.
The story was first reported by public broadcaster WBUR, according to NBC. Karoline Leavitt declined to comment to the station.
The press secretary has been a strident mouthpiece for Trump in his immigration crackdown.