A longtime friend of US President Donald Trump and special White House envoy once asked US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to detain the mother of his child during a custody dispute, according to reporting by The New York Times.
56-year-old Paolo Zampolli, a former modelling agent and presidential special representative for global partnerships, made the request in June 2025 after learning his Brazilian ex‑girlfriend was in a Miami jail on fraud charges.
Zampolli and his ex, Amanda Ungaro, both wanted the custody of their teenage son. Ungaro was in custody on charges related to a medical spa where she and her husband faced allegations of fraud and practising medicine without a licence.
Her last temporary visa had expired in 2019 and she did not have lawful immigration status at the time of her arrest.
According to records obtained by the NYT, Zampolli contacted a senior ICE official, David Venturella, and said that Ungaro was in US illegally and asked if she could be placed in immigration custody. Venturella then called ICE’s Miami field office to arrange for agents to pick her up before she could be released on bail.
During the call, Venturella said that the case was important to “someone close to the White House. ”
Ungaro was transferred into ICE custody and was eventually deported to Brazil. Sources familiar with the case told the NYT that her deportation may have occurred regardless of Zampolli’s involvement because her immigration status was already in jeopardy. ICE can decide who to detain, especially when children are involved, but officials have not said if Zampolli’s call changed when she was deported.
Zampolli denied that he asked for any special favours, saying he only wanted an explanation of the process from Venturella. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said in a statement that Ungaro was detained and deported because her visa was expired and she faced fraud charges, calling any suggestion of political motives “FALSE.”
A spokesperson for first lady Melania Trump said she had no involvement or knowledge of Ungaro’s personal affairs.
Zampolli is credited with introducing Trump to Melania Knauss in 1998 and has maintained social ties with the Trump family for decades. His name also appears in Department of Justice (DOJ) documents related to the Jeffrey Epstein case, though he has said his relationship with Epstein was not close. Epstein was a convicted sex offender and pedophile who died while serving a sentence.
Ungaro later asked an immigration judge to let her go back to Brazil because she was afraid of losing custody of her son if she stayed in US detention. The judge agreed, and she and her son have been sorting out custody from there.
