Roscommon man recounts terrifying ordeal at hands of ICE agents

A Roscommon man living legally in the United States has recounted his terrifying ordeal at the hands of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.

Speaking to the Roscommon Herald from his home in Minnesota, Jonathan Cunniffe has recalled his chilling story of being stopped at gunpoint and detained by ICE agents last month.

He explained that he has been “fully legal” since moving to the US about three and a half years ago. He has all the required paperwork, including a green card, a work visa and social security card.

Jonathan, who is a licensed medical massage therapist, also made it clear that he doesn’t have a criminal record or even a speeding ticket.

On the morning of February 19th, he was driving to his workplace in Cambridge, Minnesota, located approximately 45 minutes from his rural home where he lives with his wife LaShae.

When he stopped at a filling station to fill up his car, he firmly believes that ICE agents in plain clothes overheard his Irish accent when he went to pay at the register. Before he knew it, he was being followed by an unmarked SUV.

“They followed me for about 25 minutes and took every turn that I took and were right behind me.

“They took my documents, which are all legitimate and looked them over. And they were saying ‘Oh, they aren’t real, they aren’t real’.

e claims he was dragged from his car, assaulted and then bundled into the back of the ICE SUV before being taken to a building in Minneapolis where he remained handcuffed in a room for six hours.

Jonathan claimed he was assaulted again and subjected to physical aggression and intimidation, despite repeatedly telling ICE agents that he was in the US legally.

“I didn’t think I was going to make it out of that room if I’m being honest with you.

“They were questioning me about when I came over here. They were bringing up images of me and my wife’s social media. I was completely terrified,”

Jonathan believes that he was eventually released from detention after constantly repeating the assertion that his wife had contacted the Irish Embassy. Feeling battered and bruised and very disoriented, he eventually managed to find his way back home.

What made matters worse for him was that he lost his job the next day for missing work despite explaining to his company what had happened to him. “We think that they’re just scared of the ICE situation.

“I barely sleep anymore. My wife has a panic attack every single time I have to step foot out of our door.”