• Bruna Ferreira says she chose Karoline Leavitt over her own sister to be godmother of her now 11-year-old son
• White House labeled her a “criminal illegal alien” but attorney says she has no criminal record
• Court records reveal years-long custody battle with allegations of threats to call immigration authorities

JENA, LA (TDR) — From a detention center in rural Louisiana, Bruna Ferreira is fighting back against the Trump administration’s portrayal of her as a criminal and absent mother — a narrative she says was crafted by the same family she once trusted enough to make the White House press secretary her son’s godmother.

“I asked Karoline to be godmother over my only sister,” Ferreira told The Washington Post in an exclusive video interview from the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center on Sunday. “I made a mistake there, in trusting.”

The 33-year-old Brazilian immigrant was arrested on November 12 by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents while leaving her home in Revere, Massachusetts, to pick up the 11-year-old son she shares with Michael Leavitt, the press secretary’s brother. Video captured multiple unmarked SUVs surrounding her car as agents took her into custody.

White House Labels Her a Criminal

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The Department of Homeland Security quickly labeled Ferreira a “criminal illegal alien from Brazil” who overstayed a tourist visa that expired in June 1999 — when she was seven years old. Officials cited a “previous arrest for battery” as justification for treating her as a priority for removal.

Her attorney, Todd Pomerleau, told reporters the criminal allegations are baseless. The battery reference appears to stem from a 2008 incident when Ferreira, then 16, was involved in a fight outside a Dunkin’ Donuts over $8. Pomerleau said she was never arrested, the juvenile case was dismissed, and the records were supposed to be sealed.

“Show us the proof,” Pomerleau demanded. “She’s not a criminal illegal alien.”

The White House has maintained that Ferreira “never lived” with her son and that Karoline Leavitt has not spoken to her in years. Ferreira called that characterization “disgusting.”

“Why they’re creating this narrative is beyond my wildest imagination.”

Court Records Tell Different Story

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WBUR obtained court records and police reports revealing a far more complicated history than either side initially acknowledged. Ferreira and Michael Leavitt were engaged and lived together after their son’s birth in 2014. In November of that year, the couple posed beaming for a newspaper photo after Leavitt won $1 million in a fantasy football contest.

The relationship unraveled months later. Court filings show both parties accused each other of abuse and neglect. In a May 2015 filing, Ferreira’s lawyer alleged that Leavitt “threatened to contact Immigration in an effort to have her deported.” Leavitt has denied that allegation.

A judge in 2021 approved a custody arrangement giving Ferreira weekend visitation. She had permission to take her son to Brazil during summer vacations and to secure dual citizenship for him there.

Family Urged Self-Deportation

Michael Leavitt and his father Bob contacted Ferreira’s sister after the arrest with blunt advice: tell her to self-deport. Pomerleau warned that voluntarily leaving would trigger a 10-year ban on returning to the country Ferreira has called home since age six.

Michael Leavitt told The Washington Post via text that he “had no involvement” in Ferreira’s arrest, adding: “I want my son to have a relationship with his mother as I have always wanted.”

Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, said she reached out to Karoline Leavitt after the arrest but has not heard back. She has raised more than $36,000 through GoFundMe for legal expenses.

“If she were willing to do anything to help us, she would have reached out by now,” Dos Santos Rodrigues said. “We’ve been family for the last 13 years.”

Separated From Her Son

Ferreira said she has been unable to speak with her son since ICE agents surrounded her car nearly a month ago. The boy, who visited President Trump in the Oval Office this spring according to Facebook posts, now faces the holidays without his mother.

Her attorneys argue she maintained legal status through DACA, the Obama-era program protecting immigrants brought to the country as children, and was in the process of obtaining a green card when ICE intervened.

For Ferreira, the most painful irony is watching the administration she once considered family label her a criminal worthy of deportation. She signed off on her son attending this year’s White House Easter egg hunt. She “moved mountains” to ensure he could attend Karoline Leavitt’s wedding in January.

Now she sits in orange prison scrubs, 1,600 miles from home, waiting for a hearing that will determine whether she can remain in the only country she has ever really known.

How does the deportation of a woman with deep family ties to the White House inner circle reflect the broader human cost of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown?

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