HOUSTON – A Houston-area business owner who voted for President Donald Trump says he supported removing dangerous criminals from the United States. Now, he is fighting the administration he supported after immigration officers detained his fiancée at George Bush Intercontinental Airport.
John Gannon said he and his fiancée, Yasmin Carolina Suarez Reyes, arrived at the airport July 24 for a trip to Las Vegas, where they planned to attend a furniture convention.
Because the security lines were long, Gannon said the couple decided to enroll in CLEAR. They passed through security and went to the United Club while waiting for their flight.
“As we came out of the United Club, there were eight officers there that swarmed her,” Gannon said. “Nobody told us anything about any charges. They didn’t even identify themselves.”
The officers were with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to Gannon and Suarez Reyes’ attorney. Suarez Reyes never made it to her gate and is now being held at the Montgomery Processing Center.
“I couldn’t believe it was happening,” Gannon said.
Who is Yasmin Suarez Reyes?
Suarez Reyes is a citizen of Venezuela and Spain.
According to a federal habeas corpus petition filed by her attorney, Anne Kennedy, Suarez Reyes entered the United States legally on Oct. 24, 2023, using her Spanish passport through the Visa Waiver Program. She was authorized to remain in the country until Jan. 21, 2024.
The petition states Suarez Reyes filed an affirmative asylum application on Jan. 19, 2024, two days before her authorized stay expired. That application remains pending.
A pending asylum application does not by itself grant lawful immigration status. However, Kennedy argues Suarez Reyes was permitted to remain in the country while the government considered her application. She also had a valid employment authorization document and Texas driver’s license, according to the federal filing.
Kennedy said Suarez Reyes has no criminal history and was not restricted from traveling domestically.
“She had the legal right to travel in the United States as she was doing,” Kennedy said. “This is an extreme deviation in immigration policy, and it’s really unprecedented.”
U-visa application connected to domestic violence case
Suarez Reyes is also pursuing a U-visa after the Fort Bend County District Attorney’s Office certified her as the victim of a crime.
U-visas are available to certain crime victims who suffered substantial physical or mental abuse and assisted law enforcement in investigating or prosecuting the crime. Certification from a law enforcement agency is required, but it does not guarantee that a U-visa will be approved.
A July 28 parole request from Kennedy said Suarez Reyes was waiting for the Fort Bend County certification before completing the formal U-visa application. The federal habeas petition, filed three days later, states that the application had been filed.
Kennedy argued that Suarez Reyes’ asylum case, U-visa claim, lack of criminal history and ties to the Houston area made her a strong candidate for release.
The attorney asked ICE to release Suarez Reyes through its Alternatives to Detention program and said she would agree to wear an ankle monitor and comply with all reporting requirements.
In a July 31 email responding to a second parole request, an ICE deportation officer wrote that Enforcement and Removal Operations had not received an order requiring Suarez Reyes’ release.
“Without an order of release, ERO is unable to release the Subject,” the officer wrote.
Federal lawsuit seeks her release
Kennedy filed a petition for a writ of habeas corpus in the Southern District of Texas on July 31, arguing Suarez Reyes was arrested and detained without proper legal authority and in violation of her constitutional right to due process.
The petition also argues that ICE failed to follow its own policies when it detained Suarez Reyes before she received an asylum interview.
An immigration judge has since declined to set a bond, according to Kennedy, after determining the immigration court did not have the authority to do so. Kennedy is now asking a federal district judge to hold an emergency hearing and order Suarez Reyes’ release.
The petition also points to Suarez Reyes’ relationship with Gannon. The couple has undergone premarital counseling through the Catholic Church and was preparing to pursue a marriage-based green card, according to Kennedy.
The filing argues Suarez Reyes’ continued detention is interfering with the couple’s ability to marry.
“She is physically in jail, in prison conditions,” Kennedy said. “ICE itself, as an agency, has the ability to release her on parole. They can put her on an ankle monitor. They can release her from actual jail. ICE has said no to that.”
Gannon said Suarez Reyes is being held with dozens of other women and has limited access to phones or tablets.
“It’s starting to really wear on her. She wants out badly,” said Gannon.
Trump voter: ‘I didn’t vote for that’
Gannon described himself as a staunch Republican and confirmed that he voted for Trump.
He said he supported the administration’s promise to remove dangerous criminals but did not expect immigration enforcement to target people such as Suarez Reyes, who has no criminal record.
“I didn’t vote for that,” Gannon said. “I had voted for, you know, get the criminals out.”
Kennedy also described herself as a lifelong registered Republican and a board-certified immigration attorney. She said the case does not fit neatly into partisan politics.
“This is not a right or a left problem. It’s an American problem,” Kennedy said. “These are our friends and neighbors.”
Gannon said the detention has consumed his life as he contacts attorneys and elected officials and considers different ways to secure Suarez Reyes’ release.
“It’s taken quite a toll,” Gannon said. “That’s all we talk about. I’m getting constant emails. We’re coming up with different strategies. We’re trying to call people for their help.”
New asylum directive took effect after her arrest
Three days after Suarez Reyes was detained, the Department of Homeland Security announced an immediate change to how some pending asylum applications may be processed.
Under the interim final rule announced July 27, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may refer an asylum application directly to an immigration judge without first interviewing the applicant.
Previously, USCIS generally interviewed people who submitted affirmative asylum applications outside removal proceedings. If USCIS did not approve the application, the case could then be referred to an immigration judge for another review.
DHS said the change is intended to reduce the asylum backlog and prevent people from using asylum applications to delay immigration enforcement or obtain work authorization.
“For far too long the asylum system has been exploited for purposes of delay and work authorization, not legitimate claims of protection,” USCIS Director Joseph Edlow said in the announcement.
The rule took effect immediately, although USCIS said it would accept public comments before issuing a final rule.
The directive was issued after Suarez Reyes’ July 24 arrest and does not specifically address airport enforcement, information sharing with TSA or the circumstances under which ICE may detain a traveler.
Kennedy argues Suarez Reyes should have received an initial interview with the USCIS asylum office under the procedures in effect when she was detained. Instead, according to the federal petition, ICE referred her case to an immigration judge.
The petition states a credible-fear interview was scheduled for July 30, but no hearing took place. It also states the immigration case was dismissed after the government failed to prosecute it.
“At the time of her arrest by ICE, she was a proper affirmative asylum applicant and entitled to an initial interview by the U.S. Asylum Office,” Kennedy argued in the petition.
Airport arrests increasing nationwide
A Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News that ICE is now making between 20 and 40 arrests at airports nationwide each day, compared with fewer than 10 per day in May 2025.
Gannon believes the couple’s enrollment in CLEAR may have alerted federal authorities to Suarez Reyes’ presence. Kennedy also questioned whether information shared among CLEAR, the Transportation Security Administration and ICE led to the arrest.
When asked about the increase in immigration arrests at airports, ICE provided the following statement:
“For years, the media sat silently while the prior administration allowed illegal aliens from countries across the globe – including countries that have been designated as a state sponsor of terrorism – to travel domestically by air without proper identification endangering national security and public safety. Immediately upon re-taking office, the current administration brought an end to those reckless practices and restored the commonsense immigration policies that have been on the books for decades. ICE will continue to enforce our nation’s immigration laws without apology regardless of these attempts to sensationalize routine immigration enforcement activities.
“Information sharing between law enforcement agencies is routine. Attempts by the media to characterize it as improper will not deter ICE from enforcing our nation’s immigration laws.”
The statement did not address Suarez Reyes’ case specifically, explain the legal basis for her detention or confirm whether her enrollment in CLEAR led to her arrest.
DHS released the following statement regarding the matter:
“On July 24, ICE arrested Yasmin Suarez Reyes, an illegal alien from Venezuela. On October 24, 2023, she lawfully entered the U.S. and illegally overstayed her lawful admission which expired on January 19, 2024. Pending applications do NOT confer legal status. All of her claims will be heard by a Justice Department immigration judge, and she will receive full due process. This administration is not going to ignore the rule of law.
We encourage all illegal aliens to take control of their departure with the CBP Home App. The United States is offering illegal aliens $2,600 and a free flight to self-deport now. We encourage every person here illegally to take advantage of this offer and reserve the chance to come back to the U.S. the right legal way to live the American dream. If not, you will be arrested and deported without a chance to return."