Photo: GoFundMe
A Jamaican-born U.S. Army veteran who has lived in the United States for nearly 50 years is facing deportation after a routine traffic stop in Georgia.
Godfrey Wade, who arrived in the U.S. as a teenager and later served eight years in the Army, was pulled over in Conyers, Georgia, in September for failing to use a turn signal. Police discovered he was driving without a license and arrested him. He was later transferred into ICE custody, where he has remained for months as his family fights to keep him in the country.
Wade entered the U.S. legally and has permanent residency. After his military service, he settled in Georgia, raised a family, and worked various jobs, including tailor, tennis coach, and chef. His family says he had no prior criminal history.
“There is a very real possibility for him to be deported,” his daughter Christian Wade wrote on a GoFundMe set up to cover legal fees. “We are currently waiting for his case to be reviewed by a judge.”
The fundraiser has raised more than $24,000.
Wade’s fiancée, April Watkins, told 11Alive News the situation feels like a betrayal. “He wasn’t born in this country, but he loved it enough to serve it,” she said. “Now, when he needs this country, it’s turning its back on him.”
Wade is currently being held at Stewart Detention Center in Georgia, where he described overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in a phone interview with 11Alive. He said detainees were forced to sleep on floor mats and reported sewage water on the ground.
An ICE oversight report obtained by the outlet found multiple deficiencies at the facility, which is operated by private prison company CoreCivic.
As of now, it remains unclear why Wade did not have a valid driver’s license at the time of the stop. As a permanent resident, he is legally eligible to obtain one.
Under guidance issued in 2022, ICE officers are directed to consider a noncitizen’s military service as a significant mitigating factor when determining enforcement actions. It’s unclear whether that guidance will be applied in Wade’s case.
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