A Brazilian social media influencer known for supporting former President Donald Trump’s immigration policies was detained by U.S. federal agents and held at a detention center in Newark. Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, who has lived in the U.S. since 2009, had recently posted videos defending Trump’s immigration crackdown, inaccurately stating that only criminal migrants were being targeted for deportation. His lawyer is currently working to prevent his transfer to another state.
Pena, who has a large following on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, often criticizes Brazil’s left-wing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and supports the country’s former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro. The Brazilian community in the U.S. has faced increased deportations in recent years, with many adopting strategies to avoid detection, such as avoiding speaking Portuguese in public.
**Why this matters**
This case highlights ongoing tensions and challenges within U.S. immigration enforcement, particularly regarding the treatment of immigrants from Brazil. It also underscores the complexities faced by immigrant communities who may publicly support certain political figures while simultaneously being vulnerable to immigration actions. The situation reflects broader fears among immigrants about racial profiling and the criteria used for deportations.
Source: NewsData