From Joke to Nightmare: ICE Detentions Leave Families in Crisis

What started as a simple legal hiccup has spiraled into a full-blown disaster. Caroline Levit’s ex-sister-in-law, Bruna, has become the latest victim of a controversial ICE operation that raises serious questions about fairness, legality, and political influence.

According to Bruna’s lawyer, her detention was far from random. Surrounded by four unmarked ICE vehicles, Bruna was approached while going about her daily life. Asked first for her driver’s license, and then for her identity, she was immediately arrested. Since then, she has been moved from the Boston suburbs to New Hampshire, Vermont, and now Louisiana — thousands of miles from her family and her 11-year-old son.

Bruna’s story is complicated by her past: she had ended an engagement with Caroline Levit’s brother more than a decade ago, moved across the country, and maintained a cordial relationship with the Levit family. In fact, she had even chosen Caroline as godmother to her child. Yet now, despite no wrongdoing, she is caught in the crosshairs of a system that seems to value power and connections over justice.

A System on Fire

Her case is emblematic of the larger immigration crisis in the United States. The Trump administration’s aggressive deportation policies have targeted not just criminal offenders but also individuals who are legally in the country through programs like DACA.

Take Annie Lucia Lopez Beloza, a Babson College freshman from Honduras. She came to the U.S. at age 7 and had been pursuing a college education while legally awaiting her green card. Despite this, she was detained at Logan Airport due to an old deportation order from 2017 — one she was reportedly unaware of — and deported just three days later with no due process.

Both Bruna and Annie highlight a disturbing trend: the administration is often scooping up individuals in the midst of their legal proceedings, far from any courtroom oversight, and regardless of whether they have criminal records. As one lawyer noted, these actions violate basic constitutional rights, demonstrating a systemic abuse of power.

The Human Cost

For Bruna, the consequences are deeply personal. She owns two businesses and has a child to co-parent. Yet she is now in a for-profit prison in Louisiana, separated from her family during the holiday season. She faces years of barred reentry if she self-deports, meaning her life and relationships are effectively put on hold.

Her lawyer reports harrowing conditions in detention: women suffering miscarriages, others contemplating suicide. The human cost is staggering, and the stories reflect a broken system where due process and fairness are secondary to enforcement quotas and political agendas.

Legal and Political Dimensions

Observers argue that the mishandling of these cases isn’t just about immigration enforcement. It’s also about systemic weaknesses, including decades of inconsistent immigration policies under both Democratic and Republican administrations. The Obama-era DACA program offered temporary relief but not citizenship pathways, leaving Dreamers like Bruna vulnerable to sudden deportation.

Adding fuel to the fire, ICE officials have openly described their priorities in ways that suggest they are targeting people for political optics rather than actual criminality. College students, professionals, and individuals legally navigating their status are caught in a storm of policy and discretion.

A Call for Justice

Bruna’s detention is part of a broader pattern that has inspired activism and advocacy. New organizations, such as Mass Deportation Defense, have emerged to challenge these practices and fight for due process. As her lawyer notes, equal justice under the law should not be conditional on status, family connections, or political expediency.

Both Bruna’s and Annie’s cases underscore the urgent need for immigration reform, oversight, and accountability. Without it, the United States risks undermining its own principles — fairness, opportunity, and the rule of law.

The Bottom Line

This isn’t just a story about Bruna or Annie. It’s a story about a system in crisis, families torn apart, and a government enforcing the law selectively. As Bruna awaits her legal hearing, thousands of others face similar fates. The questions raised by these cases — about power, privilege, and due process — are questions every American should be asking.

If there is any hope for justice, it lies in public attention, legal advocacy, and systemic reform. Until then, people like Bruna remain trapped in a nightmare not of their making.