Júnior Pena, a Brazilian influencer known for publicly supporting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), was detained by the agency on January 31 in New Jersey.
Pena, whose full name is Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, according to Brazilian media, was in the middle of his legalization process, but his missing status at a scheduled hearing led to his detention.
Highlights
- Júnior Pena, a Brazilian influencer known for his vocal support for ICE’s crackdown on immigrants in the US, was detained on Saturday.
- Pena’s detention reportedly stems from an administrative mix-up. A postponed immigration hearing wasn’t properly recorded, so authorities marked him absent and launched a search.
- Pena’s arrest has drawn ridicule from ICE critics, who now call him a “crook,” echoing the label he once used for Brazilians being deported by the agency.
He has 1.3 million followers on TikTok and around 500K on Instagram, with his content focusing on depicting life in the States from an immigrant’s perspective. In one of his 2025 pro-Trump and pro-ICE videos, Pena urged Brazilians to remain calm, claiming that those being targeted by authorities were “crooks.”
Following his arrest, left-wing commentators flocked to his social media accounts to taunt him.
“You supported Trump, and in the end, you suffered the consequences,” one user wrote, while another added, “What goes around comes around.”
A Brazilian MAGA influencer was arrested after defending ICE’s crackdown on immigrants
Image credits: juniorpena0/Instagram
According to The Guardian, Pena hails from Belo Horizonte, the capital of the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, and has been living in the U.S. since 2009.
When Donald Trump became the president of the United States for the second time in January 2025, he promised an immigration crackdown. That crackdown focused heavily on the Latin American community in the first six months.
Last January, the influencer spoke about the new border control policies and urged fellow Brazilians not to listen to other influencers “spreading fear without facts, evidence, or proof” about those facing deportation.
He said those being removed under the fresh immigration law “had done something wrong or owed something.” In the same video, he went on to label immigrants on the deportation list as “crooks.”
Notably, per a December Visa HQ report citing Brazil’s Federal Police, 2,268 Brazilian nationals were deported from the United States in 2025. The figure is the highest recorded since data collection began in 2020.
Pena was reportedly in the middle of his legalization process, but failed to appear in court
Image credits: juniorpena0/Instagram
Pena, according to his friend Maycon MacDowel, was sent to Delaney Hall detention facility in Newark, New Jersey.
MacDowel is also the one to claim that the detention is a result of an administrative issue involving an immigration hearing.
A court session demanding Pena’s attendance had reportedly been postponed, but the change was not properly recorded in the system, leading authorities to mark Pena as absent when he did not appear and prompting agents to search for him.
Image credits: juniorpena0/Instagram
Currently, Pena’s attorney, Andrew Lattarulo, is working to prevent his transfer to another state — a common procedure that can hinder monitoring of the case and contact with the legal team and family.
The defense’s intention, according to the Brazilian Times, is for the influencer to be released on bail by next Monday and be able to respond to further proceedings while free.
Pena’s arrest led ICE critics to mock him for his poor judgment
Image credits: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
“Karma at its best,” wrote an ICE detractor, while another added, “Sometimes lessons come the hard way.”
“More of these types of arrests are what’s going to change the national opinion about this immigration tactic,” a third voiced, with a fourth demanding, “Deport him now.”
“Serves him right,” commented a fifth, while the next shared, “Well, this means he is a crook. Case closed.”
Another netizen, meanwhile, hoped that Pena would be able to discuss the topic of immigrant crackdown “from a different perspective” following his release.
A magazine explored what life is like for 2 million Brazilians in the U.S. under intensified ICE enforcement
Image credits: Google Maps
Veja, a Brazilian magazine, in its January 2026 report, stated that under the Trump administration’s strict immigration rules, life for Brazilian immigrants has gone from chasing the American dream to living in constant watchfulness.
Per the magazine, Brazilians have adopted strategies that make them almost invisible, helping them stay off the authorities’ radar.
Image credits: The White House
In pockets like Little Brazil in Boston, the publication claims it is common to see people avoiding speaking in Portuguese to hide their identity and dressing like everyday Americans to blend in with the crowd.
Veja detailed that not even those seeking legal status are safe.
Matheus Silveira, a 31-year-old Rio de Janeiro native, was detained during the adjustment of a status interview to obtain a green card in November 2025, the publication shared.
Silveira had been living in San Diego since 2019 and was married to an American national, Hannah Silveira.
Image credits: The White House
Outrage against ICE has intensified following the fatal shootings of two 37-year-old Minneapolis residents, Renée Good and Alex Pretti, in January.
The nearly two-week-long detention of a five-year-old boy, Liam Ramos, and his father, Adrian Arias, last month contributed to anti-ICE sentiments. The father and son duo were released on Saturday after a federal judge’s order.
A GoFundMe campaign was launched to cover Júnior Pena’s legal expenses, which reached its $32,000 goal by Monday.
"Maybe he was doing these TikToks to save himself," a social media user remarked about Pena's current ordeal
