For months, Júnior Pena told his followers there was nothing to fear as far as Trump’s immigration policies were concerned. The Brazilian influencer, who built a large online audience by documenting immigrant life in the United States, repeatedly defended President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. When reports surfaced that ICE agents were detaining Brazilians, Pena waved off the concern.
“They’re all crooks. The lot of them.” he said in a video posted in Portuguese. “Don’t panic.” But it seems as if he should have had every reason to panic.
On Saturday, Pena was arrested by ICE in New Jersey. Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, was taken into custody and transferred to the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, according to friends and local Brazilian media. One friend told an outlet, per The Guardian, that Pena was detained after missing a court hearing related to his own immigration status. His absence from the hearing proved to be his biggest mistake.
O Junior Pena era um trumpista bem conhecido.
Em seu canal, falava que Trump só estava deportando quem tinha ficha suja. E que os ilegais sem crime só eram deportados no governo biden. Fazia lives “tranquilizando” brasileiros.
Ele foi deportado hoje. pic.twitter.com/gaxqATqPQx
— Jéferfon Menezes (@JefinhoMenes) February 1, 2026
His lawyer, Andrew Lattarulo, has been working to resolve the case and prevent Pena from being transferred to another state.
The arrest quickly went viral among Brazilian communities online, where Pena has hundreds of thousands of followers across TikTok and Instagram. His account bills itself as showing “the reality of the United States” through a migrant’s eyes, while also promoting right-wing politics and fierce criticism of Brazil’s leftist president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
In recent videos, Pena openly aligned himself with Trump. “I support Donald Trump — I like the guy,” he said, praising the president’s immigration policies even as deportations surged. Pena was in the business of making migrants feel safe so it seems as if he never once considered that there may be an alternate reality besides the one he had been spinning.
Pena has lived in the U.S. since 2009 and is originally from Belo Horizonte, a city in Brazil’s Minas Gerais state that has seen large waves of emigration to the U.S. and Europe. Like many Brazilian migrants, he built a life while navigating an increasingly hostile immigration system.
That system has tightened sharply under Trump’s second term.
“Leftwing Brazilians flocked to Pena’s Instagram account to taunt him after news of his detention went viral. “You supported Trump and in the end you suffered the consequences,” wrote one. “What goes around comes around,” #immigration https://t.co/SyOnYLYja0
— Jenny Haines (@JennyHaines19) February 2, 2026
Brazil’s roughly 2 million U.S.-based nationals have been hit particularly hard. Deportations of Brazilians reached a record 2,785 last year, up from 1,640 in 2024, according to official figures.
Brazilian media have described the current enforcement environment as a “manhunt.” In a recent report, Veja magazine warned that migrants were changing how they speak, dress, and move through cities like Boston to avoid drawing attention — even those with legal status.
“Anyone who looks foreign can be a target,” the magazine reported. After news of Pena’s detention spread, reaction was swift and divided.
Supporters posted messages asking followers to pray and launched a fundraising campaign seeking $50,000 to cover legal fees. Others were less sympathetic. Left-leaning Brazilians flooded his social media accounts, accusing him of backing policies that ultimately caught up with him.
“You supported Trump and suffered the consequences,” one commenter wrote. Another added, “What goes around comes around.” For years, Pena insisted ICE was only coming for criminals. Now, his own case sits inside the system he once told others not to fear.
