Summary and Key Points: Godfrey Wade, an Army veteran who lived in the United States for more than 50 years, was detained by ICE for five months and deported to Jamaica, according to CBS News.
-His family says he arrived lawfully as a teenager in 1975, served overseas, then built a working life in Georgia and raised six children.
-ICE detained him after a traffic stop, citing a 2014 removal order tied to older minor charges and a missed hearing, with notices reportedly returned undeliverable.
-Rep. David Scott pressed DHS to halt the deportation, and the family launched a GoFundMe.
-The case lands as polling shows 49 percent view the deportation campaign as too aggressive.
Deportations Hit an Army Vet With 6 Kids—And a 2007 Bounced Check Case
President Donald Trump came back into office last year, promising to ramp up deportations, especially of dangerous criminals. Most people probably didn’t think he was talking about the likes of Godfrey Wade.
According to a CBS News account this week, Wade is an Army veteran who had been in the United States for more than 50 years before he was taken into custody by ICE for five months, and eventually deported to Jamaica. Wade has six children and three grandchildren.
Wade, his family told CBS, came to the U.S. lawfully as a teenager in 1975, after which he enlisted in the Army and served his country overseas. After he was honorably discharged, he worked a variety of jobs, including as a chef at both the Atlanta Braves’ home stadium and at the Georgia Statehouse, and as a tennis coach.
So why was he deported?
“His family says Wade’s life changed in September 2025, when he was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal in Conyers and arrested for driving without a license,” CBS News reported. “Following that arrest, ICE detained him due to a 2014 removal order stemming from a 2007 bounced check and a 2006 simple assault charge. Wade’s attorney said that the assault charge involved no physical violence and that his client had paid the bounced check and related fines.”
CBS also reported that the government claims Wade missed a hearing in 2014, but that “hearing notices sent to an address used by ICE were returned as undeliverable.”
“We’ve built an amazing life together, and to be separated from that is very challenging, especially since he did not have an opportunity to have his voice heard,” April Watkins, his fiancée, told CBS’s Atlanta affiliate.
Fighting Back
In addition to Wade’s family, U.S. Rep. David Scott (D-GA) has gotten involved in the effort, formally asking the Department of Homeland Security to halt the deportation before it took place.
Marines with Battery N, 5th Battalion, 14th Marine Regiment, fire an M777 A2 howitzer during a series of integrated firing exercises at the Combat Center’s Quakenbush Training Area April 26, 2013. (Official USMC photo by Cpl. William J. Jackson/Released)
“Nonetheless, DHS deported Mr. Wade to Jamaica and did not notify my office until four days later,” the Congressman said in a statement. “Mr. Wade served this country honorably and was entitled to due process. His deportation is a continuation of the Trump Administration’s punitive and cruel immigration tactics, and I will continue pressing DHS for accountability.”
CBS News reached Wade in Jamaica
“We are trusting in the justice system of my beloved country, the United States of America, that I loved so much and served,” he said.
Meanwhile, a GoFundMe has been launched by Wade’s son, Christian, and has raised over $31,000 toward a $35,000 goal.
“Our dad was born in Jamaica and as a teen moved to New York with his mother on a green card as a permanent resident,” the text of the GoFundMe says. “As a young man, my father later enlisted in the United States Army, 7th Infantry Division, beginning in Aschaffenburg, Germany in the 80’s. His commitment to defending this nation extended both overseas and at home, and he served honorably, leaving with many recognitions. He later pursued a career in hospitality, working as a chef at the Braves Stadium and the Georgia State Capitol. In every role, he built lasting connections with customers and regulars, always serving others with care, kindness, and dedication.”
The GoFundMe text also notes that Wade’s children and grandchildren are all U.S. citizens.
It also shared the prison conditions he lived under in the ICE facility.
“After experiencing days of inhuman conditions in the Atlanta ICE detention facility, Godfrey was transferred to the Stewart Detention Center (the largest ICE detention facility in the country) on September 21,” the text says, in the GoFundMe that was published before his actual deportation.
“The Stewart Detention Center is overcrowded, and our dad has been denied a bed for weeks. This situation has turned life upside down for his children, grandchildren, and fiancée, who are now facing the painful unknown of how long Godfrey will be gone. Most importantly, it has left his fiancée without the steady support of the household, both emotionally and financially.”
How Popular Are “Mass Deportations”?
The Trump Administration’s campaign for mass deportations may be facing political headwinds.
According to a Politico report this week, this is leading to some worries on the GOP side, especially following the ICE raids in Minnesota.
“As midterms approach, GOP lawmakers, candidates, strategists and people close to the White House are warning that the administration’s mass deportations policy — and the wall-to-wall coverage of enforcement operations, arrests of U.S. citizens and clashes between protesters and federal officials — could cost them their razor-thin House majority,” Politico reported.
“If we don’t change our approach, it will have a negative effect on the midterms, for sure,” said Rep. Dan Newhouse (R-WA), one of several Republican members of Congress who have announced their retirement, told the outlet.
There are polling numbers to back that up.
“A new POLITICO poll underscores those worries: Nearly half of all Americans — 49 percent — say Trump’s mass deportation campaign is too aggressive, including 1 in 5 voters who backed the president in 2024. In a sign of growing discomfort among the president’s base, more than 1 in 3 Trump voters say that while they support the goals of his mass deportation campaign, they disapprove of the way he is implementing it,” Politico reported.
A key factor, as noted by Politico, is that the White House “has pressured immigration officials to fulfill the president’s goal, an effort that requires targeting immigrants well beyond violent criminals.”
Many voters, however, object to that approach.
“In the poll, 38 percent of Americans said the federal government should prioritize deporting immigrants who have committed serious crimes, while 21 percent said the administration should only deport serious criminals. The poll was conducted from January 16 to 19, after an ICE agent killed Renee Good in Minneapolis. There was another federal officer-involved shooting on Saturday in Minneapolis, though details remain scarce.”
About the Author: Stephen Silver
Stephen Silver is an award-winning journalist, essayist, and film critic, and contributor to the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Jewish Telegraphic Agency, Broad Street Review, and Splice Today. The co-founder of the Philadelphia Film Critics Circle, Stephen lives in suburban Philadelphia with his wife and two sons. For over a decade, Stephen has authored thousands of articles that focus on politics, national security, technology, and the economy. Follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @StephenSilver, and subscribe to his Substack newsletter.
