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Topics: Immigration, US News, Politics
Niamh Shackleton
Topics: Immigration, US News, Politics
The mother of Karoline Leavitt's nephew is said to have been freed by ICE.
On November 12, Brazilian native Bruna Ferreira was taken into custody by ICE and is now facing deportation. She was on her way to pick up her son from school when she was apprehended by ICE officers and sent to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center.
Ferreira shares a son with Leavitt's brother, Michael Leavitt, who lives in New Hampshire. The pair were once engaged but have been broken up for some time.
Ferreira was branded a 'criminal illegal alien' by ICE. A Department of Homeland Security (DHS) spokesperson told the Daily Beast: "She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999.
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"Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation."
But her sister argued that Ferreira, 33, insisted that she was more American than Brazilian and has been in the States since she was six years old.
Karoline allegedly didn't reach out to Ferreira after the incident but her father, Bob Leavitt, suggested that the mother of his grandson should 'self deport' back to Brazil.
Now, after almost a month in custody, Ferreira has been freed on bond.
Per The Washington Post, Immigration Judge Cynthia Goodman ordered Ferreira, a Massachusetts resident, to be set free on the lowest-dollar bond possible. She had to pay $1,500.
Elsewhere, her lawyers branded the reports that Ferreira is an 'illegal alien' with a criminal record as 'unfair and untrue'. Public records show that the mom-of-one has no criminal convictions.
At the hearing, a lawyer representing the Department of Homeland Security didn't object to the 33-year-old's release and agreed that the mother isn't a danger to society or a flight risk.
Ferreira herself spoke to The Post before her release and refuted the reports that she doesn't look after her son and that he solely lives with his father. She also denied that she hasn't had contact with the Leavitt family for years and insisted that she sees that side of the family frequently while visiting her son or cheering him on at school or in sports.
Elsewhere, Ferreira branded the claims that her 11-year-old son has never lived with her as 'disgusting'. She shares custody of him with her ex Michael, whom she split from 10 years ago.
UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.