Army Vet DEPORTED – After 50-Years!

A decorated Army veteran who served his country honorably was torn from his family of six U.S.-citizen children and deported to a country he left 50 years ago over charges stemming from spilled milk and a bounced check.

Story Snapshot

Godfrey Wade, 65, spent five months in ICE detention after a traffic stop reactivated a 2014 deportation order he never knew existed
The Army veteran lived legally in the U.S. for over 50 years, working as a chef and coach while raising six American children and three grandchildren
His deportation to Jamaica stemmed from a 2006 domestic dispute involving knocked pots and a 2007 bounced check he paid in full
Congressional intervention by Rep. David Scott failed to halt the deportation, with DHS notifying him four days after Wade was already sent to Jamaica
Wade’s family raised over $31,000 through GoFundMe while pursuing legal appeals to bring him home

When a Turn Signal Ends a Five-Decade American Life

September 13, 2025 started as an ordinary day in Conyers, Georgia. Godfrey Wade failed to signal a turn. Police pulled him over and discovered he was driving without a license. Within hours, Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents arrived to detain the 65-year-old based on a removal order he claims he never received notice about. The 2014 order had sat dormant for over a decade, its notices returned to ICE as undeliverable to an address the agency itself had provided. Wade would spend the next five months shuttled between detention facilities before being deported to Jamaica in early 2026.

Wade arrived in America lawfully in 1975 as a teenager. He enlisted in the Army, served overseas, and received an honorable discharge. He built a career as a chef, tennis coach, and fashion designer. He paid taxes, raised six children who are all U.S. citizens, and welcomed three American grandchildren into the world. For half a century, he called Georgia home. Yet the government treated him as disposable based on incidents from 2006 and 2007 that his attorney insists involved no violence.

The Charges That Destroyed a Family

The 2006 simple assault charge arose from a domestic argument where Wade allegedly spilled milk and knocked over pots. His attorney emphasizes no physical violence occurred. The 2007 charge involved a bounced check that Wade paid in full along with all associated fines. These resolved matters, more than 15 years old, became the foundation for tearing a veteran away from his family. The removal order issued in 2014 allegedly resulted from Wade missing a hearing because ICE sent notices to an incorrect address. He never had the opportunity to contest the order or present his case until ICE arrested him during that traffic stop.

Wade’s fiancée April Watkins and his children Emmanuela and Christian launched a desperate campaign to stop the deportation. They created a GoFundMe that raised over $31,000 for legal fees and logistics. They contacted media outlets and pleaded with anyone who would listen. Representative David Scott, a Georgia Democrat, intervened directly with the Department of Homeland Security, requesting they halt the deportation of an honorably discharged veteran. DHS ignored the congressman’s request and only notified him four days after Wade was already on Jamaican soil. ICE refused to comment on the case to any media outlet.

From Stewart to Richwood to Exile

Wade’s detention journey reveals the machinery of America’s deportation system. Transferred from Atlanta to Stewart Detention Center on September 21, he landed in the largest immigration detention facility in the United States. Later, authorities moved him to Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana, a facility notorious for harsh conditions. His family described the experience as an emotional roller coaster, watching their father and grandfather disappear into a system that seemed impervious to reason or compassion. Emergency stay requests were denied. Appeals went unheard. The deportation machinery ground forward with bureaucratic indifference.

Now in Jamaica after five decades away, Wade speaks with bewilderment about his treatment. He told reporters he worked and paid taxes his entire adult life, trusting in the justice system that ultimately exiled him. His family continues pursuing legal avenues to reopen his case, holding onto hope that a full hearing might reverse this outcome. The pending appeal remains active, though Wade is now thousands of miles from the country he served in uniform and the family he helped build. His American children visit a father who has become a stranger in a land he barely remembers.

Due Process or Deportation Assembly Line

This case raises fundamental questions about how America treats those who serve in its military and live lawfully for decades as permanent residents. Wade committed no violent crimes. He resolved his legal matters years ago. He maintained steady employment and raised productive American citizens. Yet a missed hearing in 2014, based on notices sent to an address ICE provided that turned out to be wrong, set him on an irreversible path to deportation. The current administration’s aggressive enforcement priorities target individuals with any criminal history, regardless of how minor or how long ago. Polling suggests 49 percent of Americans view these deportation tactics as excessive.

Representative Scott characterized the deportation as punitive and cruel, noting the lack of due process afforded to an honorable veteran. The family’s attorney points to undeliverable notices and the non-violent nature of the charges as evidence of systemic failure. Yet ICE operates within legal authority when enforcing removal orders, even those issued years earlier under previous administrations. The tension between strict enforcement of immigration law and common sense consideration of individual circumstances creates cases like Wade’s, where technical legality conflicts with basic notions of fairness. Veterans who served America deserve better than assembly-line deportation over decade-old minor offenses, particularly when they never received proper notice to defend themselves.