White House spokeswoman Leavitt now has a family connection to an ICE arrest

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt now has a family connection to the ICE actions sweeping the country — her nephew’s mother was arrested by agents in Revere earlier this month.

Bruna Ferreira, a Boston-area resident who migrated with her family to the U.S. from Brazil as a child, according to her sister and immigration authorities, is now in custody at an ICE facility in Louisiana.

Michael Leavitt, the press secretary's brother, had a relationship with Ferreira, and the two have a son.

A Trump administration official confirmed the connection between Ferreira, Michael Leavitt and his sister Karoline Leavitt — the 28-year-old New Hampshire native who rose from relative obscurity to occupy one of the most prominent positions in the White House. The official said Karoline Leavitt has not spoken to Ferreira in years, and that the child has lived full-time in New Hampshire with Michael Leavitt since his birth.

WBUR could not immediately confirm whether the boy only lived with his father after the couple separated roughly 10 years ago.

A lawyer representing Ferreira, Todd Pomerleau, contested the government's version.

"People claiming my client has no relationship with her son, no custody, that's not true," he said. "They both share custody of their child."

Karoline Leavitt declined to comment on the arrest. The administration official said, “Karoline had no involvement whatsoever in this matter.”

Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin said in a statement that Ferreira had a "previous arrest for battery." She entered the U.S. on a tourist visa that required her to leave the U.S. in 1999, McLaughlin said.

“Under President Trump and Secretary [Kristi] Noem, all individuals unlawfully present in the United States are subject to deportation,” McLaughlin said.

No battery charges against Bruna Ferreira could be located in Massachusetts' online court records.

Ferreira's lawyer said he's unaware of any charges she faced.

"They're labeling her a criminal because of some charge that I've never seen, that I don't think exists," Pomerleau said. "I mean, show me it."

He called the arrest "illegal," and said, " My understanding is she was never served any type of warrant to detain her. I don't even know if they knew necessarily who she was. We're going to get to the bottom of that."

Pomerleau said Ferreira was unable to renew her legal status — Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA — and is currently in the process of seeking permanent residence in the U.S.

Under the Trump administration, a number of forms of protection for immigrants have been rescinded or canceled, and challenges are playing out in the federal courts. DACA has been challenged in Texas, and its future remains uncertain.

Long before his sister rose to national prominence in politics, Michael Leavitt won $1 million in a DraftKings contest in 2014, according to The North Andover Eagle Tribune. At the time, the story said, Leavitt and Ferreira were engaged and their son was 8 months old.

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

Ferreira’s sister, Graziela Dos Santos Rodrigues, started a GoFundMe page to help with legal costs to fight the ICE charges and allow her sister to stay in the country.  She has “followed every requirement, and has always strived to do the right thing,” the GoFundMe page says.

“She is hardworking, kind, and always the first to offer help when someone needs it," Dos Santos Rodrigues wrote. "Whether it’s supporting family, friends, or even strangers, Bruna has a heart that puts others before herself.”

This story has been updated to include comments from Ferreira's lawyer.

Correction: This story has been updated to reflect that a Trump administration official said Karoline Leavitt has not spoken to Ferreira in years.