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Topics: Immigration, US News, Politics
Liv Bridge
Karoline Leavitt has been called out by her own relative after she was kept in ICE custody for almost a month.
On November 12, Brazilian-born Bruna Ferreira, from Massachusetts, was detained by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement and held for weeks, during which she feared deportation back to the country she hasn't lived in for decades.
The mom was on her way to collect her 11-year-old son, Leavitt's nephew and godson, when officers apprehended her and sent her to the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center, more than 1,500 miles away from where she was arrested.
An immigration judge later ordered her release on $1,500 bond after 26 days in custody.
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Ferreira shares a son with Michael Leavitt, the brother of the White House press secretary. The couple separated before formally tying the knot around a decade ago.
Now, the 33-year-old has slammed what would've been her sister-in-law in an interview with CNN's OutFront.
In her scathing direct call to Leavitt, she said: "I think what I would have to say to Karoline is, just because you went to Catholic school, doesn't make you a good Catholic.
"You're a mother, and you should know. How would you feel if you were in my shoes? How would you feel if somebody did this to you? Because at the end of the day, nobody is above the law, and this could happen to you."
The mom claimed that not only has she not spoken to Leavitt since being detained, but she hasn't been able to see her son since her release. Ferreira also alleged that she has tried to make contact but has been ordered to wear a GPS ankle monitor, meaning she can't leave her home.
The White House said in a statement to The Mirror US that the boy has lived full-time with Michael in New Hampshire since birth and has never lived with Ferreira.
"This individual is the mother of Karoline's nephew and they have not spoken in many years. The child has lived full-time in New Hampshire with his father since he was born. He has never resided with his mother," the spokesperson said.
However, Ferreira and her attorneys have slammed the statement as entirely 'false'.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson also called Ferreira a 'criminal illegal alien' in the eyes of the law, alleging further that she has been arrested on suspicion of battery, which her attorney also denies.
"ICE arrested Bruna Caroline Ferreria, a criminal illegal alien from Brazil," the spokesperson said in a statement. "She has a previous arrest for battery. She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999."
Yet the mom told CNN that she's lived in the US since she was six years old and denies having any criminal history, adding: "I don’t even have a parking ticket, and I’m so proud of it.”
Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, added that she was granted entry and temporary protection in the US under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) as a child but has since been unable to renew her status a few years ago.
He added that his client is a victim of 'false character assassination'.
Now, DHS says she is required to 'have periodic mandatory check-ins with ICE law enforcement to ensure she is abiding by the terms of her release,' until her case is heard in Boston immigration court.
"I’m trying to understand and have faith that there’s some logical explanation behind any of this, but there isn’t," Ferreira said in response.
"I’m not the first. I’m surely not going to be the last. There’s thousands of women and families and children being separated daily. Where does it end? When does it stop?”
UNILAD has contacted the White House and the DHS for comment.