Out of ICE custody, mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew hopes to reunite soon with her son
Bruna Ferreira, the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, spoke Friday with CNN in one of her first public interviews since she was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in Revere last month.
Ferreira said she hasn’t spoken to Leavitt, but she had sharp words for her sister-in-law, whom she said she chose to be her son’s godmother over her own sister.
“Just because you went to a Catholic school doesn’t make you a good Catholic,” Ferreira said, when asked by CNN journalist Erin Burnett what she would say to Leavitt.
“You know, you’re a mother, you’re a mother now, and you should know. How would you feel if you were in my shoes, you know, how would you feel if somebody did this to you? ”
Ferreira , 33, immigrated from Brazil to the United States when she was six-years-old. She shares her son with her former fiancé, Leavitt’s brother, Michael.
Karoline Leavitt, who grew up in New Hampshire, is a graduate of St. Anselm College in Goffstown, N.H. She ran unsuccessfully for the state’s 1st Congressional seat in 2022, losing to Democrat Chris Pappas.
Ferreira, 33, was released from ICE custody on Monday. She said she is hoping for a “Christmas miracle” to reunite her with her son. She was leaving to pick the boy up at school when she was arrested by ICE, who did not have a warrant, she told CNN.
She was first taken to the Revere police station, where she “started panicking,” as she tried to find someone to pick up her son at school.
“After that I was shuffled around the entire country,” Ferreira said.
Ferreira was released on a $1,500 bond Tuesday after being held at an ICE processing center in Louisiana, the Globe reported. She told CNN that she is heartbroken that the Trump Administration has labeled her a criminal.
“I’m heartbroken, I’m heartbroken for my son, you know? I’m heartbroken for my mother who has worked for a quarter of a century cleaning houses, earned an honest living, [and] has paid her taxes,” Ferreira said. “I have been a law abiding citizen. I don’t even have a parking ticket and I’m so proud of it. I’m proud of my name and I carry it like a badge of honor.”
Ferreira said that she hopes to be reunited with her son “very soon’ and said her situation is “cruel” and that it “doesn’t make any sense.”
“I mean, it’s going to be hopefully a Christmas miracle,” Ferreira said. “I don’t really have that answer right now, but I’m hoping it’s sooner rather than later.”
Adam Sennott can be reached at adam.sennott@globe.com.
