White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's relative detained by ICE

[douglas9]

7. Mother of Karoline Leavitt's nephew detained by ICE in Revere; Brazil native came to US as a child

Earlier this month, Bruna Ferreira was leaving her home in Revere to pick up her 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Jr., from school in New Hampshire when her car was suddenly swarmed by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. They demanded her name and driver’s license, but Ferreira did not have the document on hand, her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, recounted.

“They were not the most gentle with her,” she said.

Ferreira, 33, was detained and taken to the police station nearby. Stunned and desperate for help, she repeatedly told authorities the name of her son’s aunt: White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt, one of the most visible figures in the Trump administration and a prominent defender of its immigration crackdown.

Michael Leavitt Sr., 35, the brother of Karoline Leavitt, 28, and Ferreira broke up more than a decade ago, Dos Santos Rodrigues said. They share custody of their son, who lives primarily in New Hampshire, she said.

“I’m sure my sister was terrified, frantic. She’s been here since she was 6 years old. She’s more American than she is anything else,” said Dos Santos Rodrigues, 27, who lives in Winchester and works in child care. “I’m sure she tried to just use whatever she could come up with in the moment. However, it didn’t really help very much.”

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/26/metro/karoline-leavitt-bruna-ferreira-ice/?s_campaign=8315:varf