Immigration, Family Ties, and 'Disgusting' Lies: The Case of Karoline Leavitt and Bruna Ferreira

The Trump administration branded the the mother of the White House press secretary’s nephew a 'criminal, absentee mom.' A judge said otherwise.

Illustration by Riley Levine

By Brian Daitzman

After ICE arrested Bruna Ferreira, the mother of Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, she called the White House portrayal of her as a “criminal” and “absentee mother” “disgusting” and false, as a judge granted minimum bond and the case moved forward in Boston.

Bruna Caroline Ferreira, a 33-year-old Brazilian-born woman who has lived in the United States since childhood, was ordered released on bond on Dec. 8 after Immigration and Customs Enforcement detained her for nearly a month. The government did not contest at her bond hearing that she posed little risk, a courtroom posture that diverged from the White House and Department of Homeland Security’s public branding of her as a “criminal illegal alien” and an “absentee mother.”

Ferreira said those claims were untrue and described the White House statement as a betrayal of her role in her son’s life and of a family relationship she said had remained connected through years of co-parenting. She said the administration’s public characterization felt especially damaging given her family tie to the press secretary.

The detention unfolded as the Trump administration has sought to accelerate removals, and officials have said publicly that the effort is aimed at violent offenders. Ferreira’s lawyers and the bond hearing record say she has no criminal convictions and was assessed in court as neither dangerous nor likely to flee, a mismatch that has raised broader questions about how official narratives can shape enforcement cases and how mixed-status families, households with members who have different immigration statuses, can be destabilized when public characterizations diverge from documented reality.

ICE agents arrested Ferreira on Nov. 12 in Massachusetts near Boston while she was driving, according to multiple outlets. Her attorney said she was on her way to pick up her son from school, and her arrest prevented that pickup, a disruption Ferreira later described as a recurring source of anguish.

After her arrest, ICE transferred her to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, La., far from her Massachusetts home and her child. She remained detained through late November and early December, and the distance complicated family contact and legal preparation, her lawyers said.

Once news of the detention spread, the White House issued a public statement portraying Ferreira as an absentee mother who had not lived with her son and had not spoken to Karoline Leavitt in years. DHS separately labeled her a “criminal illegal alien,” asserting that she had a prior battery arrest, and the White House amplified that criminal framing in public comments.

Ferreira said she has been actively present in her son’s life. She said she takes him to school, drives him to activities, attends his sports events, and maintains a bedroom for him stocked with what he needs, offering routine examples like taking him to Dave & Buster’s to underscore daily caregiving.

She also disputed the claim that she has been distant from the Leavitt family, saying she chose Karoline Leavitt as her son’s godmother, approved his attendance at a White House Easter egg hunt, and worked so he could attend Ms. Leavitt’s January wedding. Ferreira said those ties show ongoing contact through co-parenting even if the adults are no longer close friends.

The Washington Post reported that court records and family evidence contradict the White House claim that Ferreira never lived with her son or was absent for years. The paper cited court-ordered parenting plans, shared custody responsibilities, and family photos indicating co-residence and long-running caregiving arrangements, details that her lawyers say form a documented counter-record to the official narrative.

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Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, said Ferreira has no criminal record and was never convicted of battery, arguing that DHS appears to be referencing a juvenile incident from 2008 involving a fight outside a Dunkin’ Donuts that was dismissed. He said DHS has not publicly produced documentation to rebut that account.

Ferreira arrived in the United States in 1998 as a child on a tourist visa, according to reporting, and DHS says the visa required her to leave in June 1999. DHS says she overstayed and has remained in the country unlawfully since then.

Ferreira previously had Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections, with intermittent coverage across multiple years, and her lawyers say she has been pursuing lawful permanent resident status. Her deportation case was reopened under President Trump’s current term, her attorneys said, placing her again at risk of removal despite long residence and substantial family ties.

Ferreira’s son’s father is Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt’s brother, and Ferreira and Michael Leavitt were previously engaged and lived together in New Hampshire during their relationship. Their relationship ended around 2015, after which they maintained shared custody under court-ordered parenting plans, according to reporting.

Michael Leavitt has denied any role in her ICE arrest and said he wants their son to have a relationship with his mother. Ferreira has alleged in court history that he previously threatened deportation during custody tensions, claims that form part of a longer dispute described in reporting.

At the bond hearing on Dec. 8, Immigration Judge Cynthia Goodman set Ferreira’s bond at $1,500, the minimum amount allowed under law. Her lawyers argued she was neither a danger to society nor a flight risk, and DHS did not contest those arguments and waived appeal, a court posture that directly diverged from the administration’s public branding of her as a dangerous criminal.

ICE said Ferreira must complete periodic check-ins after her release, and her case will continue in Boston immigration court. Her release does not resolve the deportation risk, her lawyers said, and removal would separate her from her U.S. citizen child and make parenting difficult under existing custody arrangements.

Karoline Leavitt has not publicly commented on the case, which has intensified scrutiny because of her high-profile defense of the administration’s deportation agenda. For Ferreira, the dispute remains less about the government’s claim that she overstayed a visa than about the moral and criminal framing attached to her, a framing she says is contradicted by her life as a long-time resident mother whose legal fate now hinges on proceedings still underway.

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Brian Daitzman is the Editor of The Intellectualist. Read the original article here.

References

• The Guardian | December 8, 2025 | “Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew Rejects White House Portrayal of Her After ICE Arrest” | https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/08/karoline-leavitt-nephew-ice-arrest

• Associated Press | December 8, 2025 | “Judge Orders Release on Bond for Woman Detained by ICE With Ties to White House Press Secretary” | https://apnews.com/article/50575c83c36dac62f629f396593c0bc8

• The Washington Post | December 8, 2025 | “Court Records Contradict White House Claims in ICE Detention of Press Secretary’s Relative” | https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/12/08/leavitt-nephew-mom-ice-arrest/

• CBS News | November 2025 | “Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew Arrested by ICE in Revere, Massachusetts” | https://www.cbsnews.com/boston/news/karoline-leavitt-nephew-ice-arrest-bruna-ferreira/

• ABC News | November 2025 | “DHS Confirms ICE Detained Woman With Family Tie to White House Press Secretary” | https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/ice-arrests-woman-family-connection-white-house-press/story?id=127885764

• Snopes | November 2025 | “ICE Detention of Karoline Leavitt’s Brother’s Ex, Confirmed” | https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/ice-detained-leavitt-relative/

• U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services | Accessed December 2025 | “Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)” | https://www.uscis.gov/DACA