The mother of White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt’s nephew has raised over $17,000 for legal fees after being arrested by ICE earlier this month.

Bruna Carolina Ferreira, originally from Brazil, was arrested November 12 in Revere, Massachusetts, a Boston suburb. She was stopped by agents while driving to New Hampshire to pick up her son from his father, Leavitt’s brother Michael, CNN reported. The parents shared joint custody.

“My only concern has always been the safety, wellbeing, and privacy of my son,” Michael Leavitt said in a statement.

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The agents had no warrant, according to Todd Pomerleau, Ferreira’s lawyer. After her arrest, she was transported to an ICE facility in Louisiana.

Authorities accuse her of overstaying on a tourist visa, according to WMUR, but Pomerleau says she was in the country legally under DACA and is working on obtaining her green card. Homeland Security has also claimed Ferreira was previously arrested for battery, a charge her lawyer denies.

“Bruna has no criminal record whatsoever. I don’t know where that is coming from. Show us the proof. There’s no charges out there. She’s not a criminal, illegal alien, we’re hearing that said about anyone who’s not a U.S. citizen,” Pomerleau told WMUR.

Over the weekend, Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, set up a GoFundMe page to raise money for her legal fees and defense. The campaign has raised $17,807 out of a $30,000 goal as of Wednesday morning.

“My family is going through one of the most difficult moments of our lives, and we’re reaching out with a humble plea for help. My sister, Bruna, was recently detained by immigration and is now fighting to stay in the country she has called home for nearly her entire life,” the page reads. “Bruna was brought to the United States by our parents in December of 1998, when she was just a child, entering on a visa. Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable, honest life here. She has maintained her legal status through DACA, followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing.”

Karoline Leavitt has so far declined to comment, multiple outlets report. A White House official told WBUR that “Karoline had no involvement whatsoever in this matter.”

Image via Reuters

President Donald Trump is heading to his Florida estate on Tuesday to get a jump on the Thanksgiving holiday. The president and First Lady will be staying at Mar-a-Lago for an extended break, returning to the White House early Sunday evening.

As the First Family enjoys their six-day trip, Americans are increasingly dismayed at the state of the Trump economy, which is producing near-record-low consumer sentiment, rising and record prices at the grocery store, increasing unemployment, persistent inflation, and — as the president recently declared — tariff payments that are about to “skyrocket.”

Inflation remains strong at 3.0%. The unemployment rate is now the highest it’s been in nearly four years. Prices for items like beef, coffee, and bananas have increased by double-digit percentages. Major corporations have announced plans to lay off thousands or tens of thousands of workers. Millions of Americans are seeing their health care premiums for next year in some cases double or even triple. And according to one economist, there is a possibility that some parts of the country may already be in a recession. Another economist last week sounded the stagflation alarm.

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According to guidance from the White House, published by Roll Call, the president and First Lady will head to Palm Beach, Florida, at 6 PM on Tuesday, after pardoning the presidential turkeys.

The president has no public events scheduled on Wednesday. The only event scheduled for Thursday, Thanksgiving, is a 6 PM call with service members.

On other Thanksgivings, some presidents have visited troops in person, even overseas, or volunteered at food banks.

For Friday and Saturday, the president has no public events scheduled. On Sunday, the president and First Lady leave Palm Beach at 3 PM, headed for the White House.

Last month, President Trump was sharply criticized as “tone deaf” for hosting a Great Gatsby-themed party as millions of Americans were poised to lose their SNAP benefits.

READ MORE: Trump: Nearly All of Biden’s Pardons — Including the Turkeys — Are ‘Invalid’

Image via Reuters

A jovial President Donald Trump, set to jet off to Florida for the Thanksgiving holiday, took time on Tuesday to participate in the annual presidential pardoning of two turkeys, but told attendees at the White House that nearly all of the pardons then-President Joe Biden had performed are “invalid.”

“You remember last year,” Trump said, “after a thorough and very rigorous investigation, by Pam Bondi and all of the people, at Department of Justice, the FBI, the CIA, the White House Counsel’s Office, and the Department of Everything —we have a Department of Everything. You know what that is? I think that’s called the White House — into a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden.”

“He used an autopen, last year for the turkeys’ pardon.”

READ MORE: Layoffs Surge and Consumer Confidence Tumbles Under Trump as Holidays Approach

“So I have the official duty to determine, and I have determined, that last year’s turkey pardons are totally invalid,” the president, apparently joking, told onlookers.

“As are the pardons of about every other person that was pardoned, other than, uh, where’s Hunter?” Trump continued, referring to the former president’s son.

“No, Hunter’s was good,” Trump said. “That was the one pardon Pam that was good, right? The rest of them are all invalid.”

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The president then appeared to stop joking.

“I don’t know what the h – – you’re gonna do about that, but that’s, now we’re gonna take a little of the joke, and that is a mess,” he said of the pardons.

Presidents, including President Trump, for at least decades have used autopens to sign documents. But Trump has strongly suggested that at least some of President Biden’s autopen-signed documents are invalid.

Trump: “The department of everything. We have a department of everything. You know what that is? I think that’s called the White House. Into a terrible situation caused by a man named Sleepy Joe Biden. He used an autopen last year for the turkey’s pardon.” pic.twitter.com/RpNKIEqpef

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) November 25, 2025

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Image via Reuters