ICE Arrests Mother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s Nephew

A woman with family ties to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has been detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and now faces possible deportation, according to officials and her attorney.

Detained in Louisiana, Facing Deportation Hearings

The woman, Bruna Caroline Ferrer, is currently being held in an ICE detention facility in Louisiana as she awaits formal deportation proceedings. Her attorney confirmed that she is a native of Brazil and the mother of an 11-year-old boy who is also Karoline Leavitt’s nephew.

Ferrer shares custody of the child with Leavitt’s brother, Michael. Although the two parents remain in close contact, they do not live together.

Arrest Stemmed From a Traffic Stop

The situation began earlier this month during a traffic stop in the suburbs of Boston. After the stop, Ferrer was detained by ICE and transferred out of state to Louisiana.

According to statements from the White House and the Department of Homeland Security, Ferrer is classified as a “criminal illegal alien.”
But her attorney strongly disputes that characterization.

Attorney Says She Came to the U.S. as a Child — With No Criminal Record

Ferrer’s attorney says:

She came to the U.S. as a child in the mid-1990s
She overstayed a visa in 1999, at around five years old
She has no criminal history, despite DHS referencing a past battery charge

The attorney maintains that no such criminal case exists and calls her detention unjustified.

“We have no idea why she was detained. She wasn’t given any explanation at all,”
the attorney said, emphasizing that Ferrer was arrested while driving to pick up her son from school.

The attorney also said they do not believe Ferrer was targeted because of her connection to the press secretary.

White House Responds Carefully

Scripps News reached out to the White House for comment. They received a statement from an individual described as “a source close to the situation.”

According to that source:

Karoline Leavitt and Ferrer have not spoken in years
Leavitt had no involvement in the case
The family tie appears to be coincidental, not influential

Officials provided no further details regarding Ferrer’s detention or the timeline of her deportation proceedings.

A Family Caught in a National Crackdown

The arrest comes amid widespread immigration enforcement operations across the country, with ICE reporting thousands of new detentions in recent months.

While there is no evidence Ferrer was singled out due to her relationship to a high-level White House official, her case underscores how deeply immigration actions can affect families — including those connected to the highest levels of government.

Ferrer remains in custody as her legal team prepares for the next steps in her deportation case.