A Brazilian-born Massachusetts resident with family ties to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt won release from ICE custody on Monday. An immigration judge set $1,500 bond for 33-year-old Bruna Ferreira, allowing her to fight her deportation case outside detention.
Ferreira once lived with Leavitt’s brother, Michael, and they share an 11-year-old son. ICE agents arrested her on November 12 in Revere, Massachusetts, while she was driving to pick up her child. Officers later moved her to a detention center in Louisiana.
Her lawyer, Todd Pomerleau, argued that she posed no danger or flight risk. He said the government agreed and did not challenge her release. Homeland Security earlier called Ferreira a “criminal illegal alien” and claimed she had a battery arrest. Pomerleau denied this and said the claim was false. DHS and the White House did not respond to requests for comment.
Ferreira came to the U.S. as a toddler and joined the DACA program years later. She has also been working on a green card application. Leavitt grew up in New Hampshire. She ran for Congress in 2022, then became Donald Trump’s campaign spokesperson and later his White House press secretary.
