![\"Jonathan](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ie\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/5022197_5_articleinline_Jonathan_20and_20LaShae_20want_20to_20leave_20the_20US_20as_20soon_20as_20po.jpeg\" "\\"Jonathan")
Jonathan and LaShae want to leave the US as soon as possible following his ordeal with ICE agents.<\/p>\nAn Irish man living legally in the US claims that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents stopped him at gunpoint before detaining and assaulting him.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonathan Cunniffe, from Roscommon and living in Minnesota, said he has been “fully legal” since moving to the US three-and-a-half years ago. He has all the required paperwork including a green card, work visa, and social security card.<\/p>\n
On the morning of February 19, he said he was driving to his workplace in Cambridge, Minnesota, about 45 minutes from his rural home where he lives with his wife LaShae.<\/p>\n
When he stopped at a filling station, he claims plain-clothes ICE agents overheard his Irish accent when he went to pay and followed him in an unmarked SUV.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey followed me for about 25 minutes and took every turn that I took and were right behind me,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
A second SUV, clearly marked as an ICE vehicle, pulled out in front of his car, said Mr Cunniffe. Men jumped from both vehicles \u2014 including ICE agents in combat gear \u2014 and pointed guns in his face.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey took my documents, which are all legitimate, and looked them over. And they were saying \u2018Oh, they aren\u2019t real, they aren\u2019t real\u2019.”<\/p>\n
He said he doesn\u2019t have a speeding ticket, let alone a criminal record.<\/p>\n
He claims he was dragged from his car, assaulted,\u00a0 bundled into the back of the ICE vehicle, and taken to a building in Minneapolis where he remained handcuffed in a room for six hours.<\/p>\n
He said he was assaulted again and subjected to physical aggression and intimidation, despite repeatedly telling ICE agents he was in the US legally.<\/p>\n
\u201cI didn\u2019t think I was going to make it out of that room, if I\u2019m being honest with you,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey were questioning me about when I came over here. They were bringing up images of me and my wife\u2019s social media. I was completely terrified,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Mr Cunniffe said he believes he was eventually released from detention after constantly repeating the assertion that his wife had contacted the Irish embassy.\u00a0<\/p>\n
“They had no reason to take him. No warrant. No legal reason to hold him,” said his wife.<\/p>\n
He lost his job the next day for missing work despite explaining to his company what had happened. \u201cWe think that they\u2019re just scared of the ICE situation,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Jonathan and LaShae want to leave the US as soon as possible following his ordeal with ICE agents.<\/p>\n
Mr Cunniffe told the Roscommon Herald he and his wife have been \u201cscared out of our minds\u201d and are afraid to leave the house, fearful that they are being watched.<\/p>\n
\u201cI barely sleep anymore. My wife has a panic attack every single time I have to step foot out of our door.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
He has been in touch with the Irish Consulate in Chicago but is still waiting to receive correspondence.<\/p>\n
The couple now want to leave the US as soon as possible and return to Ireland.\u00a0<\/p>\n