45-year-old Yasmin Suarez Reyes, a Venezuelan woman and a citizen of Spain, was arrested in July for overstaying her visa. Texas businessman John Gannon, 75, said he had been a lifelong Republican but now regreted voting for President Donald Trump as his fiancée is in ICE custody. “They are picking up law-abiding citizens. They’re destroying families, jobs,” he said.“Go after the criminals. We’re all for that. But leave the mom and pops and the kids alone. Man, he’s destroying families,” Gannon added.The Department of Homeland Security made an example out of Suarez and urged aliens not to make the mistake she did. “A pending immigration application does NOT confer legal status. ICE arrested Yasmin Suarez Reyes, an illegal alien from Venezuela, after she overstayed her lawful admission to the U.S. by OVER 2 YEARS. Don’t be like Yasmin — take advantage of our CBP Home offer and get $2,600 AND a FREE flight home,” the DHS said.The arrest and the warning by the DHS mean you can enter the country legally and then apply for asylum when your visa period is over. But this pending application does not make you a legal resident — you can be arrested.
What is the case of Yasmin Suarez Reyes?
In an interview with CBS, Yasmin’s fiancé Gannon said they were planning to travel from Houston to Las Vegas for a furniture industry convention. Gannon owns more than 1,000 billboards in the U.S. as well as several establishments in Mexico, including a hotel and a restaurant. After going through security at Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, Gannon said his fiancée was arrested by agents in plainclothes.Yasmin entered the US legally in October 2023 under the Visa Waiver Program. Since she has citizenship of Spain, she was allowed to come to the US as a tourist without requiring a visa. Over 40 countries have this arrangement with the US and their nationals can enter the US for tourism without a visa and can stay up to 90 days. Yasmin applied for asylum in January 2024 before her stay validity lapsed. But that asylum case remained pending while she got a work permit and a driver’s license in Texas.
