P’Nut’s Former Owner Detained by ICE, Husband Says

Daniela Bittner, 30, has been held in federal immigration custody for nearly a month and moved among detention facilities in New York, Louisiana and Texas, her husband, Mark Longo, said. He said plainclothes officers detained her on October 16 as the couple arrived at Elmira airport to travel to a TikTok event. The officers did not identify themselves, he said.

Longo said Bittner entered the United States legally on a visa and that her detention stems from a mistake in paperwork. He said she has no criminal history and could be sent to Germany without a hearing. Federal immigration officials have not publicly explained the basis for her detention or given a deportation timetable.

Longo also said Bittner, who wears extended-use contact lenses, went more than two weeks without replacement lenses. He said the delay nearly injured her eyes and described her detention conditions as deplorable.

The couple runs a sanctuary for farm animals in Pine City, a town in New York, where about 600 animals are cared for, including 100 horses. Longo said Bittner’s deportation would threaten the sanctuary and the animal-rescue work he associates with P’Nut, the squirrel seized and killed by New York officials in 2024.

The couple has sued New York state agencies and officials over the seizure and deaths of P’Nut and a raccoon. Longo said they are continuing to fight Bittner’s detention. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE had not responded to requests for comment.

ICE Detention Puts Animal Rescuer at Risk of Deportation

A paperwork dispute has put Daniela Bittner, 30, in federal detention for nearly a month, her husband says, with deportation to Germany possible and no public explanation of the case from immigration officials. Bittner came to the United States legally on a visa, Mark Longo said, and has no criminal history.

Longo said plainclothes officers detained Bittner at Elmira airport on October 16, as the couple prepared to fly to a TikTok event. Since then, he said, she has been transferred among facilities in New York, Louisiana and Texas. He also said she went more than two weeks without replacement contact lenses, despite wearing extended-use lenses.

The prospect of deportation reaches beyond the couple: their nonprofit sanctuary in Pine City, New York, houses about 600 animals, including 100 horses. Longo said losing Bittner would imperil the animal-rescue work tied to P’Nut, the squirrel taken and killed by state officials in 2024.

The case raises urgent questions about the consequences of immigration enforcement when a family says a paperwork error is the issue. Longo says Bittner may be removed without a hearing; federal officials have not publicly explained the legal basis for her detention or set out a deportation timetable. The couple is continuing to fight the case.

Unclear Immigration Case Raises Questions About ICE Detention

Immigration rules depend on paperwork being filed correctly, but the public still has no explanation of what led ICE to detain Daniela Bittner or what happens next. Her husband, Mark Longo, says she entered the country legally on a visa and that the dispute involves the wrong document.

Bittner, a 30-year-old German native with no criminal history, has been in federal custody for nearly a month, Longo said. He said plainclothes officers detained her at Elmira airport on October 16 and that she has since been moved among facilities in New York, Louisiana and Texas. He also says she went more than two weeks without replacement contact lenses.

Longo says Bittner could be deported to Germany without a hearing. Federal officials have not publicly stated the basis for her detention or provided a timetable, leaving key details of the case unexplained. A clear account of the alleged paperwork problem matters both to the enforcement decision and to the couple’s ability to challenge it.

The couple runs a New York animal sanctuary with about 600 animals, including 100 horses. Longo says Bittner’s removal would jeopardize the operation. Their dispute over her detention comes after the couple sued New York officials over the 2024 seizure and killing of P’Nut and a raccoon.