A Brazilian with family ties to the White House press secretary is being detained by immigration agents in the US

• a report: Drug arrests and gun seizures decline in the US as the Department of Homeland Security prioritizes immigration
• Understands: The US Immigration Service plans to nearly double its staffing after receiving more than 150,000 applications

According to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Breonna was taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, and transported to the ICE Processing Center in South Louisiana. The agency reported that she entered the United States on a B2 tourist visa, which required her to leave the country by June 6, 1999, and that she had previously been arrested for assault. It is now in the process of being removed.

But Bruna’s attorney, Todd Pomerleau, disputes authorities’ account. She was previously a beneficiary of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, which gives temporary protection from deportation to people who were brought to the United States as children, he said. The Brazilian was not able to renew its status until a few years ago, when Donald Trump tried to end the program in his first administration.

– Show evidence. There are no fees. She is not a criminal, he told local press, adding that Breonna is currently in the middle of the “legal immigration process” to obtain US citizenship.

• video: Immigration agents arrest a man during an operation in Los Angeles and take his young daughter

Breonna was arrested while driving to pick up her son in New Hampshire, where the boy lives with his father. The lawyer told CNN that she and Michael Levitt, Caroline’s brother, were engaged and shared custody of their 11-year-old son. According to the American network, the nephew of the White House Press Secretary has been living full-time with his father since his birth.

Michael Levitt told WMUR that Breonna maintains a relationship with her son, although the two have not spoken since their arrest. He described the situation as difficult and said he only wanted the best for the boy. Pomerleau, the Brazilian’s lawyer, said he was also concerned about the emotional impact of the arrest.

– She should not be in prison, hours away from her family and her son’s life – he said, stressing that he considers Bruna a “great mother.”

A GoFundMe page, verified by Brona’s defence, was set up by her sister, Graziela dos Santos Rodriguez, to raise money for legal expenses. As of Wednesday morning, more than US$15,000 (about R$80,700 at current prices) had been raised.

“Bruna was brought to the United States by our parents in December 1998, when she was still a child… Since then, she has done everything in her power to build a stable and honest life here,” the Brazilian’s sister wrote in the fundraiser, adding that Bruna “has maintained her legal status through DACA.”

• Understands: Trump targets cities with black mayors while testing National Guard interventions

Trump tried to end the DACA program during his first term, but the Supreme Court ruled that his administration did not follow proper procedures to do so. Some of the program’s beneficiaries are among those detained in the current immigration enforcement process.

In a recent statement to the Associated Press, Assistant Secretary of Homeland Security Tricia McLaughlin said that those with status under the Obama-era program “are not automatically protected from deportation”:

-DACA does not confer any form of legal status in this country.