A Trump Associate in the Epstein Files Called ICE to Deport His Ex-Girlfriend
The big picture: Paolo Zampolli, a former modeling agent with deep ties to Donald Trump and connections to the Epstein files, reportedly contacted a top ICE official to have his ex-girlfriend detained as part of a custody battle. She was picked up before she could make bail and deported. The story reflects a broader pattern of the administration’s immigration enforcement being used as a personal and political tool.
Why it matters: Under Trump, immigrant parents with U.S. citizen children are being detained at twice the rate and deported at nearly double the rate compared to the Biden administration. The guidelines for handling these parents have been renamed and had the word “humane” removed.
The Zampolli-Trump connection: Zampolli introduced Trump to Melania in 1998. He got her a visa. Attended their wedding. Worked for Trump in real estate. Joined the Kennedy Center board during the first term. Became special representative for global partnerships in the second term. Both appear in the Epstein files. Zampolli and Epstein once discussed buying a modeling agency together. Zampolli’s partner, Amanda Ungaro, came to the U.S. aboard Epstein’s plane at 17.
The deportation: Ungaro left Zampolli in 2023 and moved to Florida with their son. After she was arrested on charges related to a medical spa business, Zampolli reportedly called David Venturella, a top ICE official, explaining the situation and noting that detaining her could help him gain custody. Venturella reportedly called ICE’s Miami office to ensure she was picked up before making bail, noting the case was “important to someone close to the White House.”
DHS and Zampolli deny it was a favor. Ungaro was deported.
The bigger pattern (ProPublica):
Trump’s administration detains and arrests immigrant parents with citizen children at twice the rate Biden’s did. In seven months, the parents of at least 11,000 citizen children were detained. Mothers are deported at four times the daily rate. Deportation outcomes jumped from 30% under Biden to nearly 60%. Over half of fathers and 75% of mothers had no criminal record beyond traffic or immigration offenses.
The language change: The administration renamed ICE guidelines from the “Parental Interests Directive” to the “Detained Parents Directive” and removed the word “humane” from the preamble.
By the numbers:
22,000 — estimated parents of citizen children detained at current pace
2x — rate of parental detention compared to Biden
4x — rate of mother deportations compared to Biden
60% — cases ending in deportation under Trump (vs. 30% under Biden)
75% — mothers with no criminal record beyond traffic/immigration offenses
The bottom line: The Zampolli story is the most dramatic example, but it’s the tip of an iceberg. Tens of thousands of parents are being separated from their American citizen children, most for no serious criminal offense. The enforcement system has been turned into a machine that prioritizes arrest numbers over families, and the people with the right connections can apparently use it as a personal concierge service.
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