Progressive Politics

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are holding the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew in custody, multiple media outlets reported on Wednesday.

Bruna Ferreira, 33, is currently being held at an ICE facility in Louisiana after she was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, at some point this month. The exact date of the detention is unclear. WBUR, which first reported the incident, says it took place earlier in November.

Ferreira was initially taken to a women’s prison in Vermont before being moved to South Louisiana. She is currently in removal proceedings because her family is accused of overstaying a tourist visa that expired in 1999, according to Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin.

Ferreira came to the US as a child in 1998 from Brazil and has an 11-year-old son with Michael Leavitt, Karoline’s brother. The two were engaged in 2014, but later broke up. It is unclear when they separated, but the pair shares custody of the child.