A Brazilian pro-Trump social media personality who once brushed off immigration raids as a problem only for “crooks” is now facing the same enforcement he publicly downplayed. Júnior Pena, legally named Eustáquio da Silva Pena Júnior, was taken into custody by ICE agents in New Jersey over the weekend. The right-wing influencer had previously voiced open support for Donald Trump and defended the former president’s aggressive immigration agenda to his large online following.
“I [support] Donald Trump – I like the guy,” Pena said in a video shared with followers on TikTok and Instagram, where he presents himself as documenting “the reality of the United States” through a migrant’s eyes.
In earlier posts reacting to reports of immigration raids, Pena urged Brazilians not to panic. He dismissed those being detained with the claim: “But they’re all crooks. The lot of them.”
On Saturday, that confidence collided with reality. Pena was reportedly detained and transferred to Delaney Hall, an immigration detention center in Newark. A friend told the Brazilian Times that the arrest followed a missed court appearance. His lawyer, Andrew Lattarulo, has been working to resolve the case and block a possible transfer to another state.
Pena has lived in the United States since 2009 and is originally from Belo Horizonte, the capital of Minas Gerais, a region with deep migration ties to the US and Europe. His content often amplifies migrant stories while also attacking Brazil’s leftwing president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and backing former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, a known Trump ally.
Brazil’s estimated two million residents in the US have been heavily impacted by Trump’s immigration push. Deportations of Brazilians reached a record 2,785 last year, up from 1,640 the year before.
As news of Pena’s detention spread, critics flooded his Instagram comments. “You supported Trump and in the end you suffered the consequences,” one user wrote. Another added: “What goes around comes around.”
Friends of the influencer, meanwhile, posted messages asking followers to pray.
Personally I think HE should pray… for real insight, perception, intuition and critical thinking.Pray for listening skills and to be able to read between the lines. And to stop being lead into cult thinking by an obvious atheist, racist con man. And if FOX NEWS is your info source, smart people dont listen to those circus clowns. That Network is registered as an entertainment network, opinion shows placed to steer the masses, remember, they were sued for a lot of lies and lost. They are NOT trained serious journalists, so if he wants real info before he makes more mistakes, listen to investigative analysis like Rachel Maddow, Chris Hayes, and Lawrence O’Donnell. Checkout Midas Touch and Really American (RA) hosts.