US immigration agents detain family member of Trump spokesperson

The mother of the White House press secretary’s nephew has been detained by US immigration agents in Revere, Massachusetts, as part of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

- Edward Helmore

Bruna Ferreira, a Boston-area resident who moved with her family to the US from Brazil as a child, is now in custody at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Louisiana, according to the Boston radio station WBUR, which first reported the arrest.

Karoline Leavitt’s brother, Michael Leavitt, 35, had a relationship with Ferreira, 33, and they had a son, Michael Leavitt Jr, aged 11.

Ferreira was leaving her home to pick up her son from school in New Hampshire when her car was “suddenly swarmed” by ICE agents, according to the Boston Globe. Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, told the outlet that the agents demanded her name and driver’s licence, but Ferreira did not have an identification card.

“They were not the most gentle with her,” she told the Globe.

“I’m sure my sister was terrified, frantic. She’s been here since she was six years old. She’s more American than she is anything else. I’m sure she tried to just use whatever she could come up with in the moment. However, it didn’t really help very much.”