According to media reports, US immigration authorities ICE have arrested the mother of Karoline Leavitt’s 11-year-old nephew. The native Brazilian Bruna Caroline Ferreira was arrested on November 12 near Boston, Massachusetts, her lawyer told the television station CNN.
As the station reports, citing an anonymous source, the speaker’s nephew is alive by US President Donald Trump permanently separated from since birth Ferreira with his father, Leavitt’s brother Michael, in New Hampshire.
A spokesman for the US Department of Homeland Security said Ferreira was a “criminal, illegal alien from Brazil.” She entered the country on a tourist visa that expired in June 1999. Accordingly, she has already been arrested for assault and is currently in deportation proceedings.
Expired protection status
According to Ferreira’s attorney, his client is a former recipient of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. This grants people who come to the world as children USA are brought, temporary protection from deportation.
Her lawyer further explained that she was unable to renew her status a few years ago because Donald Trump tried to end the program in his first term. The lawyer emphasized that Ferreira has no criminal record and is currently in the middle of a legal process to obtain U.S. citizenship.
The Associated Press (AP) recently reported that DACA recipients were arrested in immigration raids despite their deportation protections. A spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security told the AP that DACA recipients lose their status “for a variety of reasons, including if they have committed a crime.”
Karoline Leavitt remains silent about the incident
Trump’s spokeswoman, Karoline Leavitt, has not yet commented on the incident. She reportedly hasn’t spoken to her nephew’s mother in several years.
Her brother and father of the child, Michael Levitt, told CNN affiliate WMUR that Ferreira had maintained contact with her son. The boy hasn’t spoken to her since she was arrested. Michael Levitt described the situation as difficult and said he only wanted the best for his son. According to Ferreira’s attorney, she was arrested while going to pick up her son in New Hampshire.
Ferreira’s sister started a fundraising campaign to cover legal fees. “Anyone who knows Bruna knows what kind of person she is. She is hardworking, kind and always the first to offer help when someone needs it,” she wrote.
Additional source: NBC News
