White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt stepped into a heated immigration debate with a single repost on social media. No extra comment, just a link tipped the scale. Still, reactions came fast — and the topic, immigrant detention and voluntary departures, is already a hot topic in 2026 politics.
On February 12, Leavitt shared an article on her X account showing that voluntary departures among detained immigrants were rising. In 2025, 28 percent of completed cases ended with people leaving voluntarily. By December, that jumped to 38 percent as enforcement stepped up, according to OK! Magazine.
The article’s headline was blunt, “Voluntary departures hit record high as detained immigrants lose hope of getting released or winning in court.” Leavitt added nothing. The numbers did the talking.
The repost lands amid ongoing changes in U.S. immigration enforcement. The Trump administration has expanded detention capacity and sped up case processing. DHS officials say the rise in voluntary departures shows the system is sending clearer signals about outcomes in immigration court.
Voluntary departures hit record high as detained immigrants lose hope of getting released or winning in courthttps://t.co/QmBzWXjhdc
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) February 12, 2026
Immigration courts, run by the Executive Office for Immigration Review, still have big backlogs. Millions of cases have wait times stretching months in some areas. Detention centers, particularly in southern states, have faced criticism over conditions and access to medical care.
Many people reacted to her post. One person pointed out, “Ah yes nothing like crushing the will of people to make a girl smile eh Karoline?” While yet another said, “So you’re admitting to running concentration camps. Good to know.”
Bruna Ferreira, the mother of Leavitt’s nephew, has shared her personal experience. The 33-year-old was arrested by ICE in November while driving to pick up her son in Massachusetts. She spent 26 days in the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center before being released on bond.
Ferreira described freezing facilities, brief outdoor time, and long waits for medical attention. “It’s not civil,” she said. She said she entered the U.S. legally as a child from Brazil, later received temporary protection under DACA, and is now in ongoing deportation proceedings. DHS maintains she overstayed a 1999 tourist visa.
Things took a personal turn when Ferreira revealed that she and Leavitt were once close, and accused the White House of spreading disgusting lies. To emphasize how close she had once been to Leavitt, she said, “I asked Karoline to be godmother over my only sister.” Ferreira added, “I made a mistake there, in trusting…. Why they’re creating this narrative is beyond my wildest imagination.”
Palantir-“building the infrastructure of the police state.”
Palantir’s $30 million Immigration Operating System geotracks behavior patterns.
“driving to pick up her 11-year-old son from school.”
“How could you possibly know who I am and where I live?”https://t.co/aS3AVIRF4E
— Spil (@wrs_willoughby) February 8, 2026
Leavitt has not publicly addressed her nephew’s mother’s detention. As press secretary, she has stuck to defending broader enforcement policies from the White House podium. Still, her repost lands against a backdrop of intense debate over the human and legal side of detention.
President Donald Trump’s social media posts have often highlighted border security and interior enforcement numbers. DHS officials point to rising arrests and expanded detention contracts in Texas, Louisiana, and other states. Voluntary departure is a legal mechanism allowing certain immigrants to leave on their own rather than face a formal deportation order, often with fewer long-term penalties.
Leavitt’s repost did not offer new information. It simply amplified the statistics. But in a media landscape where a single share can carry weight, one headline and one link are enough to reignite a national conversation about ICE policy and immigrant detention.
