What to Know
It wasn’t until after one of Karoline Leavitt‘s distant relatives was detained by ICE that some were even aware of the press secretary’s close proximity to someone who might be an undocumented citizen. The relative, who is Karoline’s brother Michael Leavitt’s ex and the mother of his son, Bruna Ferreira, spoke about Karoline from the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile.
According to The Washington Post, Bruna said she made a mistake in trusting Karoline, her would-be former sister-in-law. Although no one in Karoline’s family has admitted to contacting ICE in the incident that led to Bruna’s detainment in November 2025 when she was on her way to pick up her son from school, Bruna still believes she should not have trusted Karoline.
Even in custody, Karoline Leavitt’s relative took the time to read her.
TMZ obtained video showing Bruna Caroline Ferreira, the mother of Karoline's nephew, being swarmed by federal immigration agents last month in Massachusetts.
— TruthTitanX (@truthTitanX) December 3, 2025
WHITE HOUSE PRESS.SEC.KAROLINE LEAVITT…
NEW VIDEO SHOWS ICE ARRESTING NEPHEW`S MOTHER
Never-before-seen footage. pic.twitter.com/Bt7iX1ssub
Bruna has lived in the United States since she was six. She had not yet obtained her green card when she was detained by ICE agents. However, she was living in the U.S. under Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a long-standing program meant to keep individuals safe in the U.S. when they move to the country as a child.
According to the Daily Beast, the issues with Bruna and Karoline and, really, the rest of the Leavitt family, don’t start and end with a sister-in-law from Hell. But to be fair, can anyone really imagine Karoline being anything else than that for whomever her brother chooses as a partner or spouse? Per the outlet, Karoline and Michael’s father, Bob Leavitt, and Michael allegedly urged Bruna to willingly leave the country and try to return later.
For Bruna, it was all a little suspect, especially since she said, according to the Daily Beast, that Michael and Bob both knew her schedule. They denied having involvement in ICE accosting Bruna on her way to pick up her son from school, but the pieces are sort of falling into place on their own anyway. And, before Bruna was released from the detention center, she was quick to call out the most public member of her son’s father’s side of the family.
“I asked Karoline to be godmother over my only sister,” Bruna told The Washington Post. “I made a mistake there, in trusting…Why they’re creating this narrative is beyond my wildest imagination.”
The narrative, according to Bruna, is that Bruna has a criminal record and that her detainment by ICE was warranted. However, official records detailing some kind of sordid past have yet to surface. Apparently, the Leavitts were banking on an ‘us’ against ‘them’ scenario where the American people automatically take the Leavitts’ side.
ABC7 in Los Angeles reported that, as of Dec. 8, 2025, Bruna was set to be released from the detention facility. What that means for her future in the U.S. isn’t totally clear. Something tells me that she doesn’t typically spend the holidays with her ex’s family, so at least they don’t have to worry about an awkward Christmas dinner.
