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By Dan Gooding and Joshua Rhett Miller
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A man from Texas who voted for President Donald Trump has criticized the Trump administration after his Venezuelan fiancee—while traveling to a furniture convention—was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in Houston late last month.
John Gannon's story is the latest in a string of similar incidents involving spouses or partners of American citizens who have been arrested by federal agents, despite having originally entered the country with legal status and have new applications pending.
Gannon, a 75-year-old businessman and lifelong Republican, told CBS News that he now regretted his decision to vote for Trump in 2024, saying agents were "picking up law-abiding citizens. They're destroying families, jobs," after Yasmin Suarez Reyes, 45, was arrested at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
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Newsweek reached out to Gannon, Suarez Reyes' attorney, and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) for comment Thursday afternoon. A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that Suarez Reyes legally entered the United States on October 24, 2023, but overstayed her lawful admission, which expired on January 19, 2024. The department said pending immigration applications "do not confer legal status" and that her claims will be heard by an immigration judge.
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Yasmin Suarez Reyes: What To Know
Suarez Reyes reportedly entered the U.S. legally in October 2023 under the Visa Waiver Program, otherwise known as an ESTA, due to her dual citizenship in Spain, which is part of the program, and Venezuela. Under that program, visitors are allowed to stay for 90 days without a visa.
Instead, Suarez Reyes remained in the United States and applied for asylum in January 2024, CBS reported. The pending application allowed her to obtain a work permit and a Texas driver's license while her case was under review by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).
In July, while the couple were traveling to a furniture convention in Las Vegas, agents arrested Suarez Reyes.
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"After leaving the United room, eight officers, ICE agents swarmed Yasmin and detained her. (They) didn't tell us why and wrestled her off into a car," Gannon told CBS News.
He also told the outlet that he would ask the president what he was doing, if he had the chance to speak to him.
"Go after the criminals. We're all for that. But leave the mom and pops and the kids alone. Man, he's destroying families," said the businessman, who owns more than 1,000 billboards across the U.S. and establishments in Mexico.
When asked about his support for Trump, Gannon said, "I wouldn't do that again, not after this fiasco."
Increase in Airports Arrests
ICE has been ramping up its efforts at airports, targeting immigrants whose legal status is in somewhat of a gray area, such as Suarez Reyes' pending asylum application.
The Department of Homeland Security has previously said that such positions—which usually leave applicants with work permits—do not offer full legal status and, therefore, immigrants are open to being detained due to their original visas having lapsed.
The federal government has been criticized by immigration attorneys and advocates, who say agents are going for easy targets to ramp up detention numbers.
Suarez Reyes remains under ICE arrest at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, while facing removal proceedings.
Contact Newsweek editors on this story: Edward T. Cummins.
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