Karoline Leavitt, a senior White House spokesperson and a prominent public defender of the administration's immigration agenda, is facing scrutiny after new statements from the family of a detained immigrant challenged her public description of their relationship. The case centers on Bruna Caroline Ferreira, a Brazilian national currently held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, and the mother of Leavitt's 11-year-old nephew and godson. Claims made by Ferreira's relatives and attorney directly contradict assertions circulated by White House sources, intensifying political pressure on the administration at a moment when immigration enforcement remains one of its most contentious policy fronts.
According to attorney Todd Pomerleau, who represents Ferreira, Leavitt's ties to the family have remained active in recent years despite suggestions from administration insiders that the relationship is distant. Pomerleau said Ferreira selected Leavitt as godmother of her son "over her own sister," and added that Ferreira has communicated with members of Leavitt's family "definitely within the past months." He also said Ferreira attended a recreational soccer game with Leavitt's relatives just weeks before her detention, a detail he offered as evidence that their relationship is ongoing.
Those claims differ sharply from what White House officials have told reporters-that Leavitt "has not spoken" with Ferreira in many years and that the child resides full-time with his father in New Hampshire. The contrast between the two accounts has fueled questions about whether Leavitt minimized the relationship in an attempt to distance her public role from a politically sensitive case that now involves deportation proceedings.
The Department of Homeland Security told ABC News that Ferreira is a "criminal illegal alien" who overstayed a tourist visa that expired in June 1999 and had a prior arrest for battery. Pomerleau, however, rejects that characterization, saying she has "no criminal record whatsoever" and that "there are no charges out there" according to Massachusetts court records. He maintains that Ferreira entered the U.S. as a child under DACA protections and was pursuing a green card at the time of her arrest, suggesting that her legal status may have been more complicated than DHS's description.
Ferreira's family has expressed frustration with Leavitt's public silence. Her sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, said Leavitt has had the family's phone number for years and criticized her lack of outreach. "She's been family for the last 13 years," Rodrigues told The Boston Globe. "I understand the policies and how it looks. But I also think when it comes to family, you put certain things aside." Despite repeated press inquiries, Leavitt has declined to comment.
Meanwhile, Ferreira remains detained thousands of miles from her son, who has reportedly not spoken to her since the arrest, adding emotional strain to an already fraught situation. A GoFundMe campaign launched by Rodrigues has surpassed its goal, raising approximately £28,500 ($35,875) to support legal fees in a sign of growing public engagement with the case.
Pomerleau told CNN, "She's a business-owning mother, she pays taxes ... she's not dangerous, not a flight risk... I'm trying to get her out of jail." The competing narratives-whether Ferreira is a long-term visa overstayer with a criminal history or a DACA-protected mother swept into aggressive enforcement-have added complexity to the public debate surrounding her detention and the administration's broader immigration strategy.
