.jpeg?width=1200&auto=webp&trim=0%2C0%2C0%2C0&ssl=1 "ICE detains relative of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt")
Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents have detained one of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s relatives, as the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown continues.
Bruna Caroline Ferreira is the mother of Leavitt’s nephew. She was detained in Revere, Massachusetts, according to multiple media reports.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security told NBC News that Ferreira is a “criminal illegal alien from Brazil,” who is accused of staying on an expired tourist visa since 1999.
According to the spokesperson, Ferreira is being held at a South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, nearly 1,700 miles from her home, after being arrested on suspicion of battery.
Ferreira’s sibling, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, launched a GoFundMe campaign to raise money to cover her legal fees, which she hopes will give her sister a “chance to return home to her family.”
On the GoFundMe page’s description, Rodrigues says that Ferreira came to the United States as a child and had “maintained her legal status through DACA.”
“Anyone who knows Bruna knows the kind of person she is,” Rodrigues said. “She is hardworking, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it.
“Whether it’s supporting family, friends, or even strangers, Bruna has a heart that puts others before herself.
“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.”
According to the NBC source, Leavitt’s nephew has lived full-time in New Hampshire since birth and has never lived with his mother.
A report by The Cullman Times stated that Michael Leavitt had been engaged to Ferreira as recently as 2014.
In that same report, it was revealed that he had won $1 million in the DraftKings Millionaire Maker during the 2014 season.
“I’m speechless,” he said, at the time. “I just checked and saw they added the winnings to my account. It actually was a little more than a million. It was $1,008,001. I can’t believe it.”
Ferreira was also quoted in the article, saying she wanted to use the money to buy a “lamp for my son’s room.”
