A 75-year-old man and self-proclaimed lifelong Republican has disavowed his support for President Donald Trump after his fiancée was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and is now facing deportation.
John Gannon told CBS Mornings on Thursday that his fiancée, Yasmin Suarez Reyes ― a Venezuelan immigrant ― was detained at the airport while trying to fly to Las Vegas.
“After leaving the United Room, eight officers, ICE agents, swarmed Yasmin and detained her, didn’t tell us why, and rustled her off into a car,” Gannon said.
He said that the agents did not give him an explanation for her detention and did not identify themselves.
“Nothing like this has ever happened to me,” Gannon said.
He said that Suarez Reyes had no criminal record but added that immigration officials said she overstayed her visa.
“She filed an asylum visa and all their filings were timely,” Gannon said. “Really had no reason to arrest her.”
Gannon said he regretted his vote for Trump in 2024 and likened ICE to the “Gestapo.”
“I feel totally betrayed,” Gannon said. “I mean, you never think or I never thought a guy like me would ever be involved in anything like this.”
CBS News’ Camilo Montoya-Galvez pressed Gannon on the fact that Trump made mass deportations a central promise in 2024 and asked if that was a factor in his vote.
“Not law-abiding people,” Gannon said. “Let’s go after the criminals. They’re not going after the hard guys. That’s too difficult. It’s easier to pick them up at the airport. You know, it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.”
“And this is not what you voted for?” Montoya-Galvez asked.
“No, sir. That’s not what I voted for,” Gannon said. “It’s not what I believe. Not what I believe the American system should be.”
Gannon said that Suarez Reyes is currently being held in ICE detention, facing deportation, and added that he misses her “tremendously.”
A report from ABC News found that ICE arrests hit an all-time high in July, with 51,000 people being detained.
The Trump administration has quietly been ramping back up immigration enforcement after intense public scrutiny earlier this year, after the shooting deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minnesota at the hands of immigration agents.
Watch Gannon’s full extended interview with CBS Mornings here: