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Jamaican born US military veteran have spent the last three months in Georgia in detention center Immigration and Customs Enforcement custodya move that his fiancee described as America “turning its back” on him.
Godfrey Wade is the father of six children Grandfather To three grandchildren, and a loving companion to his fiancée April Watkins. What Wade is not, Watkins explained Independentis an “illegal alien” who “terrorizes Americans”. Department of Homeland Security has claimed.
The 65-year-old man came to the United States when he was 15 years old. After spending 50 years in his favorite country, his future in the US is now uncertain after he was taken into custody by police for failing to use a turn signal while driving in Conyers, Georgia in September. Police Arrested him After realizing he was driving without a license snow He was taken into custody soon after. kens5 His detention was first reported.
he is being kept here Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, GeorgiaICE records show.
“I’m very upset,” Watkins, 49, said. “I think he came to this country as a teenager, decided to enlist and serve in the Army.” Independent“At this point, under this administration, it seems like it doesn’t matter,”
Watkins said, “I think it’s a joke. I think the country is turning its back on the people who serve.”
At the age of 15, Wade moved to New York with his mother on a green card as a permanent resident. Shortly after arriving in America, Wade enlisted in the United States Army and earned commendations for good conduct and wartime service, KENS5 reports.
After his honorable discharge, Watkins said, he earned several college degrees and worked in a variety of roles, including a master tailor, fashion designer, tennis coach and chef. The pair got engaged in 2022 and have not yet set a wedding date, but are instead stuck with the paperwork to obtain Wade’s citizenship.
He was in the process of obtaining US citizenship when he was placed in ICE custody.
But DHS has characterized Wade as a “repeat offender” who should be removed from the U.S.
“His criminal history includes multiple arrests for domestic assault, criminal trespass, reckless conduct, deposit account fraud, violation of probation, driving on a suspended license. In 2014, an immigration judge ordered him removed after he failed to appear for an immigration hearing,” explained DHS spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin. Independent In a statement. “This repeat offender is now off our streets and no longer able to terrorize Americans.”
DHS vows to remove “worst of the worst” from US but reviews Wade’s history Independent This shows that he is far from that description.
From 1993 to 2022, he has been charged multiple times with driving with a suspended or revoked license.
In 1994, he was charged with deposit account fraud, accused of writing a “worthless check” to Walmart in the amount of $66.99. In January 2008, he was charged with deposit account fraud for giving a bad check for $500 to the Douglas County tag office. He was ordered to serve a 12-month probation period.
In August 2006, Wade was charged with simple assault, criminal trespass and reckless conduct after he threw pots and pans on the floor of his then-wife’s home, as well as “threw milk off the table” and threw water on her after she was served divorce papers, court filings state. He took a plea deal and was convicted of simple assault and reckless conduct; The judge sentenced him to 24 months of probation.
As far as the immigration hearing is concerned, Watkins said he missed the notice to appear because it was sent to the wrong address.
Watkins appealed to the government to stop painting all immigrants with a broad brush, saying, “We have to stop judging people so harshly for things they may have done in the past.” “He’s a good person. And he’s in a detention center with other good people.”
Wade was held in ICE custody for nearly 90 days – for the first 12 of which he slept on the floor. overcrowdingHe said. Stewart, one of the largest detention facilities in the country, holding more than 2,000 people at a time, According To reports,
The toilet and shower in his unit are broken. He told him there were three urinals for about 80 people.
Watkins visits Wade as often as she can, but it’s not easy. From his home, it’s a three-hour drive to the detention center and another three-hour drive back. Visitors get only one hour to meet their detained loved ones once per weekShe is allowed to speak to her fiancé through plexiglass, using only the phone; No touching allowed,
Appointments are on a first come basis. Once he had to leave because the wait was five hours long.
Still, she talks to her fiancé on the phone daily, estimating she has spent $800 calling the detention center since September. She also contributes to their commissary. With him being in the detention centre, there has been financial crunch as they depend only on his income.
“It’s not something you can prepare for,” Watkins said.
Lawful permanent residents are eligible to serve in the US military. By 2022, more than 730,000 American veterans were born outside the United States, according to the think tank. Migration Policy Institute.
President Donald Trump determined to achieve the goal “The largest deportation operation in American history” A goal that has achieved even more 2 million exiles This year, according to the Department of Homeland Security. As the Trump administration escalated its immigration crackdown across the country, it also weakened ICE policy regarding the agency’s treatment of non-citizen veterans.
A 2022 ICE Directive States that her agency’s policy is to “consider” a non-citizen’s U.S. military service when deciding whether to take civil immigration enforcement action, noting that honorable discharge was considered a “significant mitigating factor.” The directive states that generally no immigration actions will be taken against active duty non-civilian service members. In all cases, agents must also consider criminal history when deciding next steps.
However, a April 2025 memorandum Shows the Biden-era directive was rescinded. “ICE values the contributions of all people who have served in the U.S. military; however, U.S. military service alone does not automatically exempt aliens from the consequences of violating U.S. immigration laws,” the memo said.
It added that ICE would still generally not take immigration actions against noncitizens serving in active duty, “absent significant aggravating factors.”
Regarding honorable discharge, the memo states that “it does not necessarily prevent an alien with U.S. military service from being subject to immigration enforcement actions,” the memo reads.
It was not immediately clear how many US military veterans have been arrested.Independent We have contacted ICE and DHS for more information.
on 2nd September LetterSenator Elizabeth Warren and dozens of her Democratic colleagues wrote to DHS head Kristi Noem, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and top immigration officials demanding a list of noncitizen active duty service members and veterans who have been arrested and detained by ICE since January.
“We demand an explanation of why DHS is betraying its promises to service members who play a vital role in protecting U.S. national security,” the Democrats wrote.
The last date for that information was September 16.
A spokesperson for Georgia Rep. Hank Johnson, who signed the letter, told KENS5 that officials have not yet responded: “Senator Warren’s office is not responding every two weeks.”
Since being detained, Wade has been separated from his six children, three grandchildren and a fiancee, his family said in a statement gofundme Page. The family began a fundraiser to help pay legal expenses in his immigration case.
His attorney has filed a motion to temporarily block Wade’s deportation, but the family said they are waiting for a judge to review the case — a period that could stretch to weeks or months. The family pleaded, “We never thought we would be in this situation, but we know we can’t face it alone.”
“Coming home every day and not having him here is very, very challenging,” Watkins said.
Despite months of heartache, Watkins said she still has hope. She has big plans when he’s released from ICE custody: “We’re going to get married and start building our life together.”