The wife of the New York man whose viral pet squirrel Peanut was seized and euthanized by wildlife officials in 2024 has been detained by immigration authorities.
Daniela Bittner, a German native, was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in mid-October at a small airport near New York’s border with Pennsylvania, according to The Associated Press (AP).
She and her husband of four years, Mark Longo, were planning to attend a TikTok event when officers approached them, according to the New York Post.
Longo said his wife’s detention stemmed from what he described as a minor paperwork issue, The AP said. The couple reportedly made an error on one of her immigration forms and failed to catch it while dealing with the seizure and euthanasia of Peanut.
“She came into this country legally on a visa. We filed the paperwork and stuff and apparently the government is saying we filed the wrong piece of paper,” Longo told The Post.
“They had asked for additional information, which we provided, and then apparently they sent a letter stating that it was denied because we filed the wrong paperwork, which we never received,” he said.
“This is a minor paperwork issue and it’s being treated as if my wife literally crawled out a hole to get into this country,” he added.
PEANUT THE PET SQUIRREL TAKEN AWAY BY NEW YORK STATE OFFICIALS FROM ADOPTED HOME, MAY BE EUTHANIZED
Longo said Bittner has no criminal history and was hit with the maximum penalty, potentially facing deportation without a hearing, according to The Post.
The couple reportedly married in 2022, shortly after Bittner returned to Germany to resolve a visa situation.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) told the outlet that Bittner lawfully entered the U.S. multiple times between May 2021 and November 2022, each time receiving permission to stay for a temporary period.
However, DHS said she was arrested because she “chose to overstay her welcome in defiance of our nation’s laws.”
“To be clear, a pending application does not confer legal status in the United States,” DHS told the Post.
Bittner has reportedly been transferred between several detention centers, from Syracuse to Buffalo, Louisiana and eventually Texas.
Longo described the conditions his wife has faced in federal custody as “deplorable,” The AP said.
Her arrest has also cast uncertainty over the couple’s nonprofit animal rescue operation, where Bittner reportedly cares for 600 animals rescued from neglect.
“If my wife gets deported for a paperwork issue, we will lose EVERYTHING we worked for. Our Nonprofit Animal Sanctuary will close and 600 animals will have to find another home. All we wanted was to be left alone. We finally moved on from the tragic murder of P’Nut, now to this,” he said.
The couple found themselves at the center of a nationwide wildlife controversy in 2024 after New York wildlife officials seized and euthanized their pet squirrel, sparking widespread outrage.
Longo had rescued Peanut when he was just 5 weeks old after the squirrel’s mother was reportedly struck and killed by a car. The animal later became a viral social media sensation, amassing a large following online.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.