A Texas businessman and lifelong Republican who voted for President Trump now regrets that decision after his fiancée, Yasmin Suarez Reyes, was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport in late July. John Gannon, 75, said eight ICE agents in plainclothes swarmed and detained Suarez Reyes, 45, a Venezuelan immigrant, after she passed through security without explanation.
“I voted for Trump,” Gannon told CBS News. “They are picking up law-abiding citizens. They’re destroying families, jobs.”
Gannon and Suarez Reyes were traveling to Las Vegas for a furniture industry convention when the detention occurred. Gannon owns more than 1,000 billboards across the U.S. and several businesses in Mexico, including a hotel and restaurant.
Suarez Reyes entered the U.S. legally in October 2023 under the Visa Waiver Program, holding Spanish citizenship—one of more than 40 countries whose citizens can enter visa-free. She applied for asylum with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in January 2024, before her 90-day tourist stay expired, and obtained a work permit and Texas driver’s license while her case remained pending, according to government records reviewed by CBS News.
Anne Kennedy, Suarez Reyes’ immigration attorney and herself a lifelong Republican, said her client was arrested despite entering legally, having a pending immigration case, and lacking a criminal record. The detention occurred because Suarez Reyes’ underlying permission to be in the country had expired, according to correspondence Kennedy received from ICE.
“For almost two weeks now, she has been in a physical jail cell, when she has done nothing more than follow the laws of the United States and do what our immigration laws allow her to do,” Kennedy said.
Record Detention Surge and Airport Operations
Suarez Reyes’ detention is part of a dramatic escalation in ICE enforcement. In July 2026, ICE took into custody more than 46,000 individuals, according to preliminary Department of Homeland Security figures obtained by CBS News—surpassing June’s previous record of roughly 43,000 detentions during Trump’s second term. An average of 1,500 detainees entered ICE custody each day in July, though some were first arrested by Customs and Border Protection agents.
Airport arrests have become a new focal point of the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown. Instances of ICE agents in plainclothes arresting people near gates and check-in counters throughout the country have sparked controversy, with many detainees having valid work permits and pending legal cases. These arrests are made possible through increased collaboration between ICE and the Transportation Security Administration, which provides agents information on noncitizen travelers whose status has lapsed.
Many of those arrested at airports occupy a legal gray area—like Suarez Reyes—holding work permits and having active immigration cases but still vulnerable to arrest given the expiration of their status. Kennedy said her client would have had a pathway to permanent residency through marriage to Gannon, an American citizen, but the detention has derailed those plans.
Gannon said he believes the enforcement efforts are targeting easier arrests. “They’re not going after the hard guys. That’s too difficult. It’s easier to pick them up at the airport,” he said. “It’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”
Suarez Reyes remained in ICE custody at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, facing deportation. Gannon said he misses his fiancée deeply and has abandoned his support for the administration’s immigration policies. “I wouldn’t do that again. Not after this fiasco,” he said about voting for Trump.
Sources
- CBS News — John Gannon’s interview, Suarez Reyes’ legal status, visa waiver entry, asylum filing, ICE detention details, and July 2026 record detentions (46,000+ book-ins)
- KHOU — Gannon’s statements, the detention at George Bush Intercontinental Airport, the eight ICE agents, and broader ICE airport crackdown context
- CBS News — ICE-TSA collaboration at airports, legal gray area of detained immigrants with pending cases, and context on the administration’s stated goal of mass deportations
