Here’s a story that will make you question everything you thought you knew about the consequences of public stances on immigration. A Brazilian influencer who vocally supported Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policies has been arrested by ICE in New Jersey. But here’s where it gets controversial—Júnior Pena, known for his right-wing views and social media presence, had repeatedly claimed that Trump’s crackdown only targeted ‘crooks.’ Now, he finds himself on the other side of the very system he defended.
Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, had built a following of hundreds of thousands on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where he portrayed ‘the reality of the United States’ through the eyes of a migrant. In a recent video, he openly declared, ‘I support Donald Trump—I like the guy.’ He even went as far as to dismiss reports of ICE rounding up migrants, including Brazilians, by falsely claiming, ‘But they’re all crooks. The lot of them.’ And this is the part most people miss—his arrest came after he missed a court hearing, raising questions about the complexities of the immigration system he once championed.
On Saturday, Pena was detained and sent to the Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark. His lawyer, Andrew Lattarulo, is reportedly working to resolve the situation and prevent his transfer to another state. Pena, originally from Belo Horizonte, Brazil, has lived in the U.S. since 2009 and often used his platforms to echo migrant stories while criticizing Brazil’s left-wing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and supporting the jailed former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally.
The irony isn’t lost on anyone, especially as the Brazilian community in the U.S., estimated at 2 million, has been severely impacted by Trump’s anti-migrant policies. Last year, a record 2,785 Brazilians were deported, up from 1,640 in 2024. A recent report by Brazilian magazine Veja described the situation as a ‘veritable manhunt,’ where anyone who ‘looks foreign’ lives in fear, regardless of their immigration status. Migrants in cities like Boston are resorting to extreme measures, like avoiding speaking Portuguese in public and dressing to blend in as ‘average Americans.’
When news of Pena’s detention went viral, left-wing Brazilians flooded his Instagram with comments like, ‘You supported Trump and now you’re facing the consequences,’ and ‘What goes around comes around.’ Meanwhile, his friends urged followers to pray for him. But here’s the question that lingers: Does Pena’s arrest prove that no one is immune to the policies they endorse, or is this just an isolated incident? Let us know what you think in the comments—this is one debate you won’t want to miss.
