Bruna Ferreira, the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, is expected to be released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in the coming days after a federal immigration judge granted her bond.
Judge Cynthia Goodman ordered her release on a $1,500 bond after Ferreira, a Brazilian native, was arrested by ICE officers for overstaying her visa. Ferreira, a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipient, had been living illegally in the United States since she overstayed her visa after it expired in 1999. Her lawyers told the Washington Post that she has regularly tried to obtain legal citizenship.
Ferreira has not been released yet, but her attorneys “expect that imminently within days,” Jeffrey Rubin, attorney of the Boston-based law firm representing Ferreira, Rubin & Pomerleau PC, told the Washington Examiner.
“We argued that she was not a danger, nor a flight risk, nor a criminal illegal alien, and the government stipulated to our argument and made no argument whatsoever and then waived appeal,” Todd Pomerleau, another of Ferreira’s attorneys, told WMUR.
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor the White House responded to the Washington Examiner’s requests for comment.
A DHS spokesperson previously said in a statement that Ferreira was being held at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center and was under removal proceedings.
ICE ARREST OF KAROLINE LEAVITT’S RELATIVE REVEALS PERVASIVENESS OF VISA OVERSTAYERS
“She entered the U.S. on a B2 tourist visa that required her to depart the U.S. by June 6, 1999,” the DHS spokesperson previously said. “Under President Trump and Secretary Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation.”
Ferreira had a son with Michael Leavitt, the White House press secretary’s brother, and the two were previously engaged, according to CNN. They share custody over their child, according to the outlet.
