ICE Detains Peanut Owner's Wife Over Visa Overstay, Putting 600-Animal Sanctuary at Risk
Updated
Updated · Fox News · Nov 12
ICE Detains Peanut Owner's Wife Over Visa Overstay, Putting 600-Animal Sanctuary at Risk
3 articles · Updated · Fox News · Nov 12
Summary
Mid-October detention of Daniela Bittner, the German-born wife of Peanut the Squirrel owner Mark Longo, has left her in federal custody after agents stopped the couple near the New York-Pennsylvania border.
DHS said Bittner lawfully entered the U.S. multiple times between May 2021 and November 2022 but later overstayed, while Longo said the case stems from a wrong immigration form and a denial notice the couple never received.
Several transfers—from Syracuse to Buffalo, Louisiana and then Texas—have followed, with Longo saying she has no criminal record, faces possible deportation without a hearing and has endured deplorable detention conditions.
The case now threatens the couple's nonprofit animal sanctuary, where Bittner cares for about 600 rescued animals that Longo says could lose their home if she is deported.
Bittner and Longo were already thrust into national attention in 2024 after New York wildlife officials seized and euthanized Peanut, the viral pet squirrel they had rescued as a baby.