Karoline Leavitt’s close relative still has “deep respect and admiration” for the White House press secretary—even as she stays silent about her detention in an immigration facility.
Bruna Ferreira, 33, was taken into immigration custody earlier this month while picking up her 11-year-old son—Leavitt’s nephew and godson—from school in Revere, Massachusetts. The Department of Homeland Security alleges the Brazilian national overstayed a tourist visa.
Ferreira, who is being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, said she has no “bad blood” with Leavitt or her family and holds the 28-year-old Trump official in high esteem, her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told WMUR, an ABC affiliate in Leavitt’s native New Hampshire.
“She is not doing well, but she is strong and resilient,” Pomerleau added.
Leavitt’s brother Michael also told the outlet he was “most concerned about the well-being and safety of his son,” whom he said Ferreira has maintained a close relationship with.
Pomerleau said his client has been in the United States since she first entered at six years old and was granted Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, an immigration program established in 2012 that provides children brought to the U.S. with protection from deportation and work permits.
The attorney also pushed back on DHS claims that Ferreira overstayed a tourist visa that lapsed in 1999 and that she has a prior battery arrest. Individuals with “serious” criminal records are ineligible for DACA.
“Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever. I don’t know where that is coming from,” he told WMUR. “Show us the proof. There are no charges out there. She’s not a criminal, illegal alien, we’re hearing that said about anyone who’s not a U.S. citizen,” he added, referring to her detainment as a “political football.”
“She is caught up in this limbo,” Pomerleau said. “Under the law, she should be released.”
Ferreira’s case was thrust into the global spotlight after her family criticized Leavitt, one of the most influential members of the Trump administration, for “radio silence” on the young mother’s detention over 1,500 miles away from New England. A GoFundMe page set up by Ferreira’s family has raised $35,875 as of Sunday morning.
“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,” a statement from Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, who describes herself as Ferreira’s family member, reads on the fundraising page.
“Bruna’s absence has been especially painful for her 11-year-old son, Michael Leavitt Junior, who needs his mother and hopes every single day that she’ll be home in time for the holidays.”
Pomerleau told CNN on Wednesday that she remains civil with the Leavitt family because they share a child, despite separating from Leavitt’s brother, Michael.
Pomerleau also said Ferreira “literally picked Karoline to be the godmother of Michael Jr., over her own sister.”
Leavitt declined to comment on the situation to her local news channel.
The Daily Beast has reached out to Pomerleau and the White House for comment.
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