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<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n<\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\nA Brazilian model has alleged she was detained and deported from the United States after a request linked to a close associate of US President Donald Trump. The model claimed the whole thing was a conspiracy by her ex to win the custody dispute over their teenage son.41-year-old Amanda Ungaro said her former partner Paolo Zampolli, a long-time friend of Trump and a White House envoy, used his powerful influence to have her placed in immigration detention and ultimately deported to Brazil.\u201cIt was not enough for him to destroy me during 20 years of relationship: he wanted to destroy me again when I started a new life, when I got married,\u201d Ungaro told Spanish newspaper ‘El Pa\u00eds’ from her home in Rio de Janeiro.The claims come from events in June 2025, when Ungaro was arrested in Miami along with her current husband, a Brazilian doctor, over alleged fraud linked to a cosmetic clinic. She has denied wrongdoing and said she had no prior criminal record. According to her, around ten officers \u201cstormed\u201d their home before taking them into custody.At the time of her arrest, Ungaro\u2019s most recent US visa had expired in 2019, leaving her without legal immigration status. According to reporting by The New York Times, Zampolli contacted a senior Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) official to ask whether she could be transferred into ICE custody. During that call, the case was described as important to \u201csomeone close to the White House.\u201dUngaro alleges that her former partner used her immigration status as leverage in their ongoing custody battle over their 16-year-old son. She said she was later handcuffed and moved to an immigration detention centre in Miami, where she spent \u201cthe whole day crying.\u201dHer account of detention describes harsh conditions. She said she was held alongside violent offenders, including \u201cchild murderers\u201d, and witnessed scenes such as an elderly detainee restrained to a wheelchair and a woman who miscarried while waiting for medical care. Ungaro also claimed that several detainees had legal residency status.After more than three months in custody, she was transferred to Louisiana before being deported to Brazil. \u201cIt was a hall with more than 120 people, the floor was wet, there were no windows, four days without seeing the sun\u2026 I came out infested with lice,\u201d she said.Ungaro said she returned to Brazil with nothing but her prison uniform. She had left Brazil at the age of 13 to pursue a modelling career in the United States.Zampolli outright denied the allegations, saying he did not request any special treatment. \u201cMy relationship with the biological mother of my son was very difficult. I stick around for my son because in Italy, normally you have a father and a mother,\u201d he told the Daily Beast. He has said he only sought information about the legal process.The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has also rejected claims of political interference, stating that Ungaro\u2019s detention and deportation were due to her expired visa and the fraud charges. <\/p>\n Watch<\/span><\/p>\n ‘SNL’ Roasts Melania Trump In Shock Epstein-Themed Cold Open <\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n Zampolli introduced Melania Trump to Trump in the 1990s and has long moved in the president\u2019s circle for a long time. He also addressed past claims about how he introduced them, saying, \u201cI said: \u2018Melania meet Donald, Donald meet Melania,\u2019 and then I left the table because I had 300 guests.\u201dA spokesperson for Melania Trump said she \u201chas no knowledge of, nor involvement in, the personal affairs of Mr. Zampoli and Ms. Ungaro,\u201d and confirmed she has no contact with ICE.Zampolli\u2019s name has also appeared in documents linked to Jeffrey Epstein, though he has not been accused of any wrongdoing in connection with the late pedophile.<\/div>\n\n