US immigration authorities have detained the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, officials said, highlighting the broad reach of President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.
A spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said immigration authorities had arrested the woman, Brazilian national Bruna Caroline Ferreira, but did not provide details of the circumstances.
US media reported she was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, near Boston.
DHS said Ferreira had entered the United States on a tourist visa and failed to depart.
Her attorney, Jeffrey Rubin, said she was pursuing permanent residence and had previously been protected from deportation under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme.
Trump has deployed immigration officers to major US cities in an effort to reach historic levels of deportations, sweeping up long-term residents and people without criminal records.
ICE statistics show that more than two-thirds of the roughly 53,000 people arrested and detained as of 15 November had no criminal convictions.
DHS said Ferreira had a previous arrest for battery, though further details were not provided.
A source familiar with the matter confirmed to Reuters that Ferreira is the mother of Leavitt’s nephew.
The source said the child had lived full-time with Leavitt’s brother, Michael Leavitt, in New Hampshire since birth and had never resided with Ferreira.
Ferreira is being held at an ICE detention centre in Louisiana, DHS said.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation," the spokesperson said.
‘Random mass deportation’
Rubin said his firm hoped to secure her prompt release.
He said Ferreira had previously been enrolled in DACA, which provides deportation relief and work permits for immigrants brought to the United States as children.
Rubin said the same government that had offered her a path to citizenship had now chosen to "abuse its entrusted powers" with "random mass deportation."
A GoFundMe page organised by Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, seeks to raise $30,000 for her legal costs.
It describes Ferreira as a selfless and hardworking mother who "has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing."
Her detention has been "especially painful" for her 11-year-old son, "who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays," the page said.
