A Massachusetts woman with family ties to a top Trump administration official has been detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for over two weeks, caught in what her attorney calls an “unconstitutional merry-go-round” of transfers across multiple states.
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was arrested on November 12, 2025, while driving to her son’s school in New Hampshire. What makes her case particularly notable? She’s the former fiancĂ©e of Michael Leavitt, brother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, and shares custody of their 11-year-old son.
Detained Without Explanation
“She wasn’t told why she was detained,” said Todd Pomerleau, Ferreira’s attorney. “She was bounced from Massachusetts, to New Hampshire, to Vermont, to Louisiana on this unconstitutional merry-go-round.”
According to Pomerleau, Ferreira was brought to the United States from Brazil when she was just 2 or 3 years old and later enrolled in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. At the time of her detention, she was in the process of applying for a green card.
The Department of Homeland Security tells a different story. A spokesperson characterized Ferreira as a “criminal illegal alien” who entered the U.S. on a tourist visa that expired in 1999 and claimed she had a previous arrest for battery.
Pomerleau vehemently disputes these allegations. “They’re claiming she has some type of criminal record we’ve seen nowhere. Show us the proof,” he challenged. “She would’ve been deported years ago if that was true. And yet, here she is in the middle of this immigration imbroglio.”
Family Ties and Custody Concerns
Despite the end of their engagement, Ferreira and Michael Leavitt maintained a co-parenting relationship for their son, who has lived with both parents at different times. Court records reveal only two minor motor vehicle violations in 2020 — speeding and driving an unregistered vehicle — with no trace of the battery charge alleged by DHS.
Friends describe Ferreira in glowing terms. “Anyone who knows Bruna knows the kind of person she is. She is hardworking, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it,” Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues stated in an online fundraising campaign.
What does this case say about the current administration’s approach to immigration? Under President Trump, the status of DACA recipients has become increasingly precarious. Homeland Security officials have emphasized that DACA “does not confer any form of legal status in this country” and recipients aren’t automatically protected from deportation.
Ferreira remains detained at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, far from her son and community. Her attorney maintains she poses no flight risk or danger to society — the standard criteria for detention during immigration proceedings.
The sudden nature of her arrest has raised questions about whether her connection to a high-profile administration official played any role in her case. Neither the White House Press Office nor Karoline Leavitt has commented publicly on the matter.
As Ferreira’s case moves through removal proceedings, it highlights the complex and often contradictory nature of America’s immigration system — where someone brought to the country as a toddler can suddenly find themselves facing deportation to a country they barely know, even while raising a U.S. citizen child with family ties to the highest levels of government.
