Pbs interview: Marine veteran says wife's ICE detention was 'confusing' and 'devastating'

A Marine veteran told pbs that his wife, Diana Butnarciuc, was detained by ICE during a Citizenship and Immigration Services appointment earlier this month and was told she would be deported — a step that would bar her return for at least 10 years.

Pbs interview: five-minute appointment ended in detention

Patrick Baja said the USCIS interview he and his wife waited six years for lasted about five minutes before ICE agents entered and detained Diana. Their lawyer had spoken with USCIS the day before the appointment and had never seen anyone detained by ICE inside that office, Baja said. The sudden intervention left the couple stunned at the interview site earlier this month.

Background on Diana Butnarciuc's immigration history

Diana entered the United States in 2008 on a tourist visa and soon filed for asylum; that asylum claim was denied in 2020. She and Baja applied in 2020 for her to receive status as his spouse, and they waited six years for the official interview that they had hoped would resolve her case.

Family fallout and broader detention numbers

Baja described the moment as "very confusing" and "very emotional, " and said his wife’s two U. S. citizen daughters from a previous marriage are struggling without her. Lisa Desjardins spoke with Baja yesterday on pbs about the family’s experience. The interview aired amid wider government activity: the Department of Homeland Security has been posting regular lists of criminals it is deporting, while data from the TRAC clearinghouse shows nearly 75 percent of ICE detainees have no criminal conviction.

At the USCIS appointment, Diana was told she would be deported; that deportation notice is the next concrete step officials communicated to the family and would prevent her reentry for at least 10 years.