After Serving the U.S. Army, Godfrey Wade – a Grandfather Fights Deportation from ICE Detention.
For over five decades, Godfrey Wade built a life in Georgia. He raised six children, worked as a chef and a coach, and still wears the title of U.S. Army veteran with quiet pride. Today, the 68-year-old grandfather is wearing handcuffs and a chain around his waist, detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and facing forced removal to Jamaica, a country he hasn’t called home since he was a teenager.
Wade’s sudden arrest and nearly five-month detention have left his family in Covington reeling, caught in what his daughter, Christian Wade, calls “an emotional roller coaster.” The situation hinges on a 2014 deportation order that Wade’s lawyer says was issued without his knowledge, stemming from minor offenses from years ago that he had resolved.
“We’ve built an amazing life together, and to be separated from that is very challenging,” said April Watkins, Wade’s fiancée. “Especially since he did not have an opportunity to have his voice heard.”
Wade arrived in the United States legally in 1975. He enlisted in the Army, served overseas, and received an honorable discharge. “That was his foundation,” said his daughter Emmanuela Wade. “He took pride in it and made us believe in the U.S. Army.” As a lawful permanent resident, he spent the next 50 years working, paying taxes, and weaving himself into the fabric of his community.
The turn came on a routine afternoon last September. Wade was pulled over in Conyers, Georgia, for a minor traffic violation. He was arrested for driving without a license. That encounter triggered an ICE hold, based on a deportation order filed a decade ago.
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According to his attorney, that order traces back to a 2007 case involving a bounced check—which Wade paid in full—and a 2006 simple assault charge. The assault allegation, his lawyer clarified, involved a domestic argument where “a glass of milk was spilled, and pots and pans were knocked to the floor. No physical violence was ever alleged.”
The critical detail, his legal team argues, is that Wade never knew about the 2014 immigration hearing that resulted in the removal order. Court records show notices were sent to an old address later used by ICE and were returned as undeliverable. Wade was unaware the order existed until his arrest last fall.
“Someone’s old mistakes does not define who they are,” Christian Wade said. “People need to see the humanity of the person.”
After his arrest, Wade was held at the Stewart Detention Center. For months, his family made regular five-hour round trips to visit, speaking through plexiglass. The ordeal grew more urgent recently when he was suddenly transferred to the Richwood Correctional Center in Louisiana. His attorney reported he was placed on a flight manifest for Jamaica, signaling that deportation could be imminent.
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“You’re on pins and needles because you don’t know what’s going to happen,” Watkins said. The uncertainty has been hardest on the grandchildren. Christian Wade described her young daughter crying at night for her grandfather.
Wade’s attorney has filed an emergency appeal, asking for his case to be reopened so a judge can review the full scope of his life—his service, his family, and the circumstances of the old order. The lawyer also said members of Congress from both major parties have written to the Department of Homeland Security, urging officials to take another look.
ICE’s online detainee registry currently lists Wade as “in ICE custody” in Louisiana. The agency did not respond to requests for comment on his case.
While he waits behind bars, Wade spends time drawing portraits of fellow detainees, a creative outlet his family sees as a sign of his character. They are now in a race against time to secure the one thing they feel has been denied: a fair hearing.
“You’re not from this country, but you serve. You’re willing to die for this country. That should matter,” Watkins said.
His daughter Christian echoed the sentiment, adding a plea that reaches beyond their family’s pain: “When we say ‘thank you for your service,’ it should mean something.”
With an appeal pending and no sign of intervention from DHS, the family fears Wade could be put on a plane to Jamaica within days, ending a 50-year American story over a hearing he never knew he missed.
After Serving the U.S. Army, Godfrey Wade – a Grandfather Fights Deportation from ICE Detention.
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