A tense scene unfolded outside a Massachusetts condominium complex last month when immigration agents surrounded a vehicle and detained the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, according to newly released video.
According to the New York Post, the footage obtained by TMZ, shows multiple unmarked vehicles converging on a silver sedan attempting to exit a parking lot in Revere on Nov. 12.
Agents wearing masks quickly boxed in the car before taking Bruna Carolina Ferreira into custody.
Dressed in a gray hoodie and black leggings, she was led away without incident as the convoy departed moments later.
Ferreira, who is originally from Brazil, is the mother of an 11-year-old son she shares with Karoline’s older brother, Michael Leavitt.
The pair were previously engaged and shared joint custody of the child. Michael has since remarried and welcomed another son.
Following her arrest, Ferreira was transported to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, where she now faces removal proceedings.
Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, sharply criticized the operation, calling it an “unlawful arrest by officials who appear to be from [Immigration and Customs Enforcement].”
“But it is hard to tell because they have masks over their faces and are in unmarked vehicles. No warrant is shown. Common tactics these days,” he told TMZ.
Pomerleau accused the government of “targeted, unconstitutional depravity,” arguing that Ferreira — a single mother and business owner — was awaiting her green card like “tens of thousands of others” when she was “stripped from her child right before the holidays.”
The Department of Homeland Security described Ferreira as a “criminal illegal alien,” referencing a prior arrest on suspicion of battery. Public records confirming that case in Massachusetts were not immediately located.
Ferreira originally entered the U.S. on a B-2 tourism visa that expired in 1999. Her attorney disputes the characterization of her as a criminal and says she maintained a stable relationship with her son.
Michael Leavitt told WMUR that the boy has lived with him since birth, though Ferreira remained involved in his life. A source told the outlet that Karoline Leavitt has no relationship with Ferreira and has not spoken to her in years.
Pomerleau countered that Ferreira cared for her son until he began kindergarten and that she was on her way to pick him up from school when ICE detained her.
“Bruna had no problem whatsoever with the Leavitt family,” he said. “Karoline is her son’s godmother, chosen over her own sister, and Michael Sr. is a very good father … This is appalling. We look forward to her day in court.”
