Mother of Karoline Leavitt’s nephew pushes back on ‘disgusting’ narrative

Bruna Ferreira, the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew, is pushing back on the “disgusting” narrative from the Trump administration that she’s an absent mother and a criminal.

Ferreira — who was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents last month and faces possible removal to Brazil — has garnered national attention in recent weeks because of her connection to Leavitt.

The White House media office has sought to distance the press secretary from the Brazilian immigrant, who was arrested for living in the country illegally after overstaying a visa when she was a child. The White House said in a statement that Ferreira and Leavitt had not spoken in years and claimed that Ferreira never lived with her son. The White House also shared a statement from the Department of Homeland Security calling Ferreira a “criminal.”

But Ferreria, in a video interview with The Washington Post, disputed that narrative. She said Leavitt was once like a younger sister to her, noting she even selected Leavitt to be her son’s godmother.

“I asked Karoline to be godmother over my only sister,” she told the Post in a video interview Thursday. “I made a mistake there, in trusting. … Why they’re creating this narrative is beyond my wildest imagination.”

Ferreira, speaking from a Louisiana detention center, told the Post she’s tried to maintain a friendly relationship with Leavitt’s family, whom Ferreira said she sees often at school or sports events. She noted she “moved mountains” to make sure her son could attend Leavitt’s wedding earlier this year.

She also pushed back on the White House narrative, calling claims that she never lived with her son “disgusting” and false. She said before she was arrested, she would spend her days managing cleaning and clothing businesses, going to yoga class and spending time with her son, the Post reported.

Ferreira came to the United States in 1998, when she was 6 years old, to join her parents after living with her grandmother in Brazil, according to the newspaper. Ferreira was protected under the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program.

Ferreira was released from the detention center on Monday, after an immigration judge set her bond at $1,500, which her lawyers said is the lowest-dollar bond possible, the Post reported.

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