The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained a woman who has a familial connection to the White House press secretary, as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
Bruna Ferreira, 33, is now in custody at an ICE facility in Louisiana, according to the Boston radio station WBUR. She is a Boston-area resident who migrated with her family to the US from Brazil as a child.
The US has been grappling with a wave of detainments, inducing fear in immigrant communities, since the election of Trump.
Nevertheless, Ferreira’s story, in particular, has made headlines for her close relationship with Karoline Leavitt, the White House press secretary, who is part of the Trump administration and one of the most prominent voices supporting Trump’s deportation push.
Ferreira’s 11-year-old son is the nephew of Leavitt, whose older brother had a previous relationship with Ferreira. The pair were reportedly engaged at one point.
The Boston Globe has reported that earlier this month, when Ferreira was taken into custody by ICE agents, she repeatedly told authorities during her arrest that her son’s aunt was the White House press secretary.
Ferreira’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told CNN that she is “part of the Leavitt family’s lives”, as Karoline Leavitt is named the godmother of Ferreira’s son.
The connection is prompting debate over the legal immigration process for US residency and citizenship.
While Ferreira came to the US from Brazil at age six with her parents, she maintained her legal status through Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (Daca), an Obama-era program which grants temporary protection from deportation for those who entered the country as children.
That’s according to a GoFundMe page set up by Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues to help with legal costs to fight the ICE charges and permit Ferreira to stay in the US.
“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,” Dos Santos Rodrigues wrote.
Steps taken by Trump to end Daca during his first term were blocked by the US supreme court, however, the Associated Press reported that Daca recipients are among those detained in immigration sweeps.
The Trump administration has described Ferreira as a “criminal illegal alien” who had been arrested for battery, but her lawyers say she has no criminal record.
Her attorney, Pomerleau also said Ferreira is “in the middle of applying for her green card, which she’s been waiting for for 27 years”.