Trump Supporter Says ICE Detention of Fiancée Changed His View of Deportation Campaign
Key Takeaways
- •Texas businessman John Gannon has publicly stated he regrets voting for Trump in the 2024 election after ICE agents detained his fiancée Yasmin Suarez Reyes at Houston's George Bush Intercontinental Airport in July.
- •Suarez Reyes' attorney reports that her client entered the U.S. legally, had a pending asylum case, held a work permit and Texas driver's license, and had no criminal record at the time of detention.
- •The Trump administration has broadened ICE enforcement priorities beyond individuals with serious criminal records, with advocacy groups reporting growing detentions of people with pending asylum cases and work permits.
- •Under U.S. immigration law, individuals with pending asylum proceedings are generally permitted to remain in the country while their cases are adjudicated.
- •Several public commentators criticized Gannon's change of heart, arguing that Trump's anti-immigrant policies were evident during the campaign and that opposition should not require personal impact.
A Trump voter says the president's ongoing push to carry out the largest mass deportation campaign in U.S. history has affected him personally.
In an interview with CBS News published Thursday, Texas businessman John Gannon said he regretted supporting President Donald Trump in the 2024 election after federal immigration officials detained his fiancée, Venezuelan immigrant Yasmin Suarez Reyes, last month.
Mass deportations were a centerpiece of Trump's 2024 campaign, and his administration has significantly broadened ICE enforcement priorities beyond those with serious criminal records. Advocacy groups and immigration attorneys have reported a growing number of detentions involving individuals with pending asylum cases, work permits, and no criminal history.
Gannon said he had expected Trump's mass deportation campaign to target only criminals who are unlawfully in the U.S., but instead said officials are "picking up law-abiding citizens" and "destroying families, jobs."
Gannon, who owns more than 1,000 billboards in the U.S. and owns a hotel and restaurant in Mexico, said Suarez Reyes was detained in July by multiple U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents after going through security at George Bush Intercontinental Airport in Houston.
According to Gannon, the ICE officers "swarmed" Suarez Reyes and "wrestled her off into a car" without giving an explanation.
"This is like the Gestapo," Gannon said.
Anne Kennedy, an attorney representing Suarez Reyes, told CBS that her client entered the U.S. legally and had a pending asylum case. Under U.S. immigration law, individuals with pending asylum proceedings are generally permitted to remain in the country while their cases are adjudicated. Kennedy said Suarez Reyes had received a work permit and a Texas driver's license before she was detained, and that she had no criminal record.
"For almost two weeks now, she has been in a physical jail cell," Kennedy said, "when she has done nothing more than follow the laws of the United States and do what our immigration laws allow her to do."
When CBS asked what message he had for Trump, Gannon urged the president to "go after the criminals" but "leave the mom and pops and the kids alone."
"Man, he's destroying families," Gannon added.
Some critics showed little sympathy for Gannon's situation, pointing to Trump's decades of racist attacks on immigrants.
"You voted for Trump to do this to other people," journalist Molly Knight commented. "You're mad because he's not doing this to 'the right people,' as defined by you."
Election forecaster Rachel Bitecofer responded similarly, sarcastically summing up Gannon's position as, "I only wanted other people's relatives deported!"
Gun safety activist Shannon Watts questioned why Gannon had to be personally affected by Trump's policies before opposing them.
"The most horrible things shouldn't have to happen to you in order to oppose them," Watts wrote.
