Make New York Post a Preferred Source In a nutshell, she stayed too long.
The former owner of P’Nut — the world-famous squirrel who was seized and decapitated by New York officials — was nabbed by ICE because she’s an undocumented German national who “overstayed her welcome,” the Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday.
Daniela Bittner, 30, a heavily tattooed social media model who also posted on OnlyFans, was taken into custody at an airport last month after entering the US legally several years ago, according to DHS.
Bittner had been living with her husband at the upstate Pine City animal sanctuary that they ran.
“On October 15, 2026, ICE arrested Daniela Bittner, an illegal alien from Germany, at the Elmira Corning Regional Airport. She will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings and will receive due process,” a DHS spokesperson said.
“Between May 2021 and November 2022, Bittner lawfully entered the country multiple times with permission to stay for a temporary period. She chose to overstay her welcome in defiance of our nation’s laws,” the spokesperson said.
“To be clear, a pending application does not confer legal status in the United States,” the rep added — hinting that she likely applied to become a US citizen.
Her husband of four years, Mark Longo, told The Post that Bittner has been kept in “deplorable conditions” at various detention centers across the country since her arrest.
He said she was detained over a “minor issue” on her immigration paperwork.
DHS didn’t return an inquiry from The Post about where Bittner is being held.
The couple drew national attention last year after P’Nut and his raccoon sidekick, Fred, were executed by state Environmental Conservation and Health officials.
On Oct. 30 2025, state agents swarmed the sanctuary where the animals were living and had become a viral hit online.
It’s illegal to keep squirrels and raccoons as pets in New York, where they’re considered wild animals, state officials said at the time.
During the raid, a biologist claimed P’Nut bit her through her gloves, which officials said required both animals to be decapitated and tested for rabies.
