Bruna-Caroline Ferreira, the mother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, has emerged at the center of a political and personal storm after her recent arrest and detention by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Ferreira, a Brazilian national who has lived in the United States since she was six years old, was taken into custody last month while driving to pick up her 11-year-old son from school in Massachusetts. Her arrest, described by her attorney as premeditated and unusually secretive, has ignited debate over immigration enforcement practices, due process, and the personal toll of high-profile cases.
According to CNN, Ferreira was stopped by ICE officers who approached her vehicle, asked her name, and—by her account—failed to present any warrant before taking her away. "They asked me, ‘Is your name Bruna?’” Ferreira recounted in an interview with CNN’s Erin Burnett. “And I just asked, ‘Well, how do you know who I am?’” She described being surrounded by what she called a “swarm of people” and then placed into an unmarked vehicle. Ferreira said she was not told where she was being taken, and over the next several weeks, she was transferred through a dizzying array of detention facilities across the country—including New Hampshire, Vermont, Philadelphia, Texas, and finally Louisiana.
Ferreira’s ordeal began in November 2025. Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, maintains that the ICE officers initially pretended the stop was routine. “At first, they played dumb and acted like it was a traffic stop,” Pomerleau told CNN. “They didn’t show any warrant, and then apparently, they manufactured a warrant when she was in Vermont several hours later, which is highly unusual.” He went on to allege that the arrest was “premeditated” and targeted, potentially because of Ferreira’s connection to a senior White House official. He also noted that ICE agents immediately asked if she was Bruna, even though she was driving a car not registered to her, suggesting they had been tracking her movements closely.
Ferreira’s detention lasted nearly a month, during which she said she was unable to communicate with her family for 26 days. “I’m heartbroken for my son,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “As a child, he must be terrified. I don’t know what’s going on in his little mind, and I just want him to know that none of those things are true.” She described being allowed just one emergency phone call after her arrest, and then being cut off from any contact with her family as she was shuttled from one detention center to another.
The case drew further attention because of Ferreira’s familial ties. She shares custody of her son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline Leavitt’s brother, to whom she was engaged over a decade ago. Leavitt, now the White House Press Secretary and also the godmother to Ferreira’s son, has notably stayed out of the public controversy surrounding the arrest. When asked during her CNN interview what she would say to Leavitt, Ferreira did not hold back: “Just because you went to a Catholic school doesn’t make you a good Catholic.” She continued, “You are a mother... How would you feel if you were in my shoes? How would you feel if somebody did this to you?”
Ferreira’s arrest came just a day after she filed her most recent green card application, her attorney said—a timing he called suspicious and indicative of accelerated enforcement. Pomerleau argued, “Who you’re related to shouldn’t matter—she’s in line for her green card like thousands of other people. This is a woman who has two businesses, she’s a single mother who is paying her taxes, who ends up in a for-profit prison in Louisiana. It’s just unconscionable what they’re doing on a daily basis.” He further emphasized, “It shouldn’t matter who she’s related to or not. People are entitled to due process under the law.”
The Trump administration has called Ferreira a “criminal illegal alien” who overstayed a tourist visa and, according to the White House, had never lived with her son. Ferreira fiercely disputes this characterization, calling it cruel and misleading. “Why lie?” she asked during her interview. “I have so many friends and family that have called me and said, ‘Why would anyone lie about this when it’s 2025—we have a digital footprint of everything.’” She added, “I don’t even have a parking ticket, and I’m so proud of it.”
The White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment regarding Ferreira’s statements or her ongoing immigration case. Meanwhile, Ferreira’s attorney claims that her phone was broken during the arrest, despite the encounter not being violent. After her release, Ferreira was placed on a GPS monitor, which she described as unlawful. “I tried to see my son,” she said. “However, they put me on a GPS monitor unlawfully. It has to end somewhere.”
Ferreira’s story is emblematic of the personal anguish and legal uncertainty that can accompany high-profile immigration cases in the United States. She reflected on her experience, saying, “I can’t wrap my mind around it. I’m not the first, and I’m not going to be the last. There are families and children being separated daily, where does it end?”
Her attorney, Pomerleau, has continued to push for fair treatment, underscoring that Ferreira has lived in the U.S. since 1998, arriving from Brazil at age six. He maintains that her arrest was both unconstitutional and unnecessary, and he has called for greater scrutiny of ICE’s practices. “The only arrest in her life was this unconstitutional bag job,” he said.
As of December 13, 2025, Ferreira’s immigration case remains ongoing. She is no longer in ICE custody, thanks to a bond set by an immigration judge, but her future in the United States is still uncertain. The controversy has shone a spotlight on the intersection of immigration enforcement, family, and politics, raising difficult questions about due process and the human cost of policy decisions.
For now, Ferreira is focused on reuniting with her son and clearing her name. Her story, marked by fear, heartbreak, and resilience, continues to unfold as the legal and political battles play out in the background—and as families across the country watch closely, wondering what might come next for their loved ones.
