U.S. Trying To Kick Out Army Vet Who Risked Life For A Country That Now Rejects Him

The 65-year-old came to the U.S. legally as a teen.

An Army veteran who has lived in the U.S. for over 50 years is in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody and faces deportation. Jamaican-born soldier, Godfrey Wade, has been in ICE custody for nearly five months.

Wade came to the U.S. legally in 1975 when he was a teenager. He served in the Army’s 7th Infantry Division in Aschaffenburg, Germany. The veteran received an honorable discharge before joining the civilian workforce.

“That was his foundation, and he took pride in it and made us believe in the U.S. Army,” Emmanuela Wade, the veteran’s daughter, told CBS News.

“He lived as a lawful permanent resident for decades, working as a chef, tennis coach, and fashion designer. “He’s dipped his hands in everything that makes America good,” Emmanuela said.

On Sept 13, 2025, police pulled Wade over in Conyers, Georgia, for failing to use a turn signal. Authorities then arrested the veteran for driving without a license.

In the days following his arrest, ICE detained him, citing a 2014 removal order stemming from a bounced check in 2007 and a 2006 simple assault charge.

Wade’s attorney tells CBS News that a domestic argument, during which someone knocked over pots and pans, led to the assault charge, but no one was accused of physical assault. The attorney added that Wade paid for the bounced check and related fines. Authorities issued a removal order, but Wade did not appear in court for a 2014 hearing. However, the veteran said he was never notified about the hearing. Court records show that hearing notices sent to an address used by ICE were returned as undeliverable. Because of the 2014 removal order, Wade has not had a hearing. His attorney has filed an appeal to reopen his case.

After his arrest, authorities took Wade to Atlanta’s ICE field office and then transferred him to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia, where he stayed for several months. In a phone interview with 11 Alive News, Atlanta Wade discussed his ordeal.

“For 52 years I’ve lived in this country and raised my children, worked hard, paid my taxes,” he said. “A lot of the processes of immigration I didn’t know about. I’m learning more while I’m in here,” Wade told the outlet.

ICE’s online detainee database shows Wade currently listed as “in ICE custody” at Richwood Correctional in Louisiana. According to his attorney, Wade is on a flight manifest to Jamaica this week.