WASHINGTON - U.S. immigration authorities are detaining the mother of White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt's nephew, officials said on Wednesday, a sign of the wide reach of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

A U.S. Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement that immigration authorities had arrested the woman, Brazilian national Bruna Caroline Ferreira, but declined to provide the exact circumstances.

News reports said Ferreira had been taken into custody in Revere, Massachusetts, near Boston.

DHS said Ferreira had entered the U.S. on a tourist visa and failed to depart. But her attorney, Jeffrey Rubin, said she was pursuing permanent residence and had previously had protection from deportation under a program for immigrants brought to the U.S.

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