Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has detained a woman who is related to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, local press reported on Wednesday. The woman is Bruna Caroline Ferreira, the mother of Leavitt's niece, who is from Brazil. She was residing in the U.S. despite her tourist visa having expired in June 1999, according to NBC News, citing a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson. CNN reported that Leavitt's niece has lived in New Hampshire solely with her father since birth, and her mother has not had contact with Leavitt for many years. The same source indicated that Ferreira was arrested in Revere, Massachusetts, by immigration authorities on suspicion of assault, though no further details were provided. The woman is currently being held in an immigrant detention center in Louisiana, pending deportation. Her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, created a GoFundMe campaign to cover legal expenses, stating that Ferreira arrived in the U.S. in 1998 and maintained her legal status through the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. DACA, created in 2012 by then-President Barack Obama, deferred the deportation of undocumented immigrants who arrived in the U.S. as children. Ferreira's attorney, Todd Pomerleau, denied that his client has a criminal record. He also stated that the detainee was arrested in her vehicle without a judicial warrant and was in the process of obtaining her permanent residency.
