LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A woman from Las Vegas is back living in the Eastern European country she fled almost two decades ago.Diana Butnarciuc was deported less than two months after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrested her on Feb. 11 during an immigration hearing in Las Vegas and placed her in the Henderson Detention Center. >>Download the 8 News Now Vegas streaming app 8 News Now spoke with Butnarciuc’s family as they were trying to get her released from custody.According to her attorney, Darren Heyman, Butnarciuc arrived in the United States in 2008 from Moldova claiming political asylum. That claim was denied in 2017 and a removal order was issued. By 2019, she had exhausted all her appeals.“I totally understand policies and rules and all that, and again that’s why we followed everything to a T when it came to the process. As a Marine veteran, I would just like the help,” Patrick Baja, Butnarciuc’s husband, said.Baja told 8 News Now he reached out to all of Nevada’s congressional leaders for help. Baja had filed what’s called an I-130 in 2020, which kicks off the process of getting a green card for a spouse based on marriage.Heyman said they waited five years for an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. When they finally received an interview on Feb. 11, ICE agents arrested her. >>Previous: Marine veteran seeks Las Vegas wife’s release from ICE detention “She would otherwise be entitled to a green card in this country. She entered legally. She has zero criminal record. We just want her to be given the same process that’s been given to lots of people before,” Heyman said.“The fact is, what we’re seeing happening is atrocious across the nation. ICE is out of hand,” Nevada Attorney General Aaron Ford, who has filed several lawsuits against the Trump Administration, told 8 News Now when asked about the ICE arrest.“I have been clear that as the Nevada Attorney General, I represent the entirety of the Nevada family, and I mean that,” Ford said. “I don’t care if you’ve been here three generations or for three days. If you live in the state of Nevada, I’m your attorney general, and I will stand up for your rights.”Butnarciuc left her two children, both of whom were born in Las Vegas, behind.Heyman said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is still sitting on Butnarciuc’s I-130 application.8 News Now has reached out to ICE several times to learn more about Butnaricuc’s arrest and deportation, but they have yet to respond.Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KLAS.