Karoline Leavitt's Immigration Controversy With Relative Has Melania Trump On Everyone's Lips

Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is feeling the effects of ICE firsthand. Karoline's brother Michael Leavitt and his ex-fiancée, Bruna Caroline Ferreira, share joint custody of their 11-year-old son. Now Ferreira, who is originally from Brazil, is in ICE custody. The irony of Leavitt's own family being affected by ICE after she has staunchly defended the agency is lost on no one. As some folks accuse Leavitt of selling out one of her own family members, some wonder how long other immigrants with familial attachments to the current administration have before the same happens to them. And, it has plenty of people turning their attention to Melania Trump.

News that Leavitt's family member was detained by ICE spread like wildfire on X (formerly Twitter). And, it left many netizens thinking about the first lady. "Leavitt sold out her own family," one X user surmised, adding, "They're heartless monsters. Should Melania be concerned? She violated the terms of her visa " "When does Melania get arrested and deported?" someone posted. Another X user wrote, "'Under Trump, all individuals unlawfully present in the US are subject to deportation,'" adding, "I bet Leavitt pushes her family under the proverbial bus ... as a good [Christian]. Melania also immigrated here illegally. When will she, and maybe Barron, be deported?"

If Donald Trump believes it, Karoline Leavitt will defend it. So, it's no surprise that earlier this fall, the press secretary took to X, writing, "Democrats must stop demonizing the heroic men and women of ICE who are just doing their jobs to keep Americans safe," alongside a graphic that read "I stand with ICE." Now, the mother of Leavitt's nephew has been plucked from her life for allegedly overstaying her tourist visa. Ferreira's attorney, however, argues that Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, also known as DACA, gave her legal status. Folks online are skeptical about how exactly Ferreira ended up in ICE custody, considering the obvious bias of her former sister-in-law-to-be.

Donald Trump's administration brings the expression "rules for thee but not for me" to mind. So, we expect Melania to have a different set of rules than everyone else. Still, people are clearly bothered by the hypocrisy of Donald's anti-immigrant stance while his wife is an immigrant. Melania moved to New York from Slovenia to model, receiving the EB-1 AKA Einstein Visa in 2001 and becoming a citizen in 2006. The U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services website claims that those who earn this visa "demonstrate extraordinary ability in the sciences, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim." So, either Melania has Olympic-level modeling skills or something else was afoot here. For her sake, hopefully Donald and Leavitt's affair gossip isn't true — just in case X users are right about Leavitt calling ICE on people she knows.