Army Veteran With 2006 Assault Charge Deported After 50 Years In US
Photo is not from story. (Photo by Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
An Army veteran who had lived in the United States for five decades was deported to Jamaica while an appeal of his case was still active, according to CBS News.
Godfrey Wade was taken into Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody, where he remained for nearly five months before his removal. Wade entered the U.S. lawfully in 1975, later enlisted in the Army, served overseas, and received an honorable discharge. In September 2025, he was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal and was arrested for driving without a license, CBS News reported.
Following that arrest, ICE detained Wade based on a 2014 removal order tied to a 2007 bounced check and a 2006 simple assault charge. According to his attorney, the assault charge did not involve physical violence, and Wade paid the bounced check and associated fines. ICE cited the 2014 order, stating that Wade failed to appear at a hearing that year. His attorney said Wade was unaware of the removal order until his arrest, and court records cited by CBS News indicate that hearing notices sent to the address on file were returned as undeliverable.
On Feb. 5, Democratic Georgia Rep. David Scott sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem requesting that Wade be given an opportunity to have his case heard in court and that his removal be paused, according to 11 Alive.
Yesterday, I sent a letter to Secretary Noem and Acting Director Lyons ⁰urging DHS to immediately halt the removal of GA resident & U.S. Army veteran Godfrey Wade. After 8 years of honorable service, Mr. Wade faces deportation without due process. Our system must uphold dignity… pic.twitter.com/4rHc7YSszS
— Rep. David Scott (@repdavidscott) February 6, 2026
In the letter, Scott wrote that Wade served on active duty in the U.S. Army from 1983 to 1987 with the 1st Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment. He noted that Wade entered the United States in 1975 with his mother, was a longtime lawful permanent resident, and raised six U.S. citizen children. Scott also cited Wade’s attorney, who argued that the government’s own records reflected repeated failures of notice, raising concerns that Wade never received proper notification of the hearings that led to the removal order. Scott asked DHS to consider using its discretionary authority to allow Wade to have his case reviewed by an immigration judge before removal.
Wade was deported on Feb. 5, the same day Scott sent the letter, 11 Alive reported.
When Wade was arrested in September, DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described his criminal history as including “domestic assault, criminal trespass, reckless conduct, deposit account fraud, violation of probation, multiple arrests for driving on a suspended license,” according to Newsweek.
Wade’s legal team is continuing to pursue an appeal following his deportation. His attorney told CBS News that an emergency request to stay the removal was denied.
The Daily Caller said it contacted DHS and ICE for comment but did not receive an immediate response.
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