ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) — A man who once defended America now waits in a foreign country, seeking justice from the same system he fought to protect.

On Monday, Army veteran Godfrey Wade said he’s still getting used to his new life after being deported to Jamaica.

On Feb. 5, Wade, 66, was deported to Jamaica after serving roughly six months in ICE detention.

“They just dump you in a country you haven’t been. I haven’t been to this country in 30 years,” said Wade in an interview with Atlanta News First.

Wade’s attorney, Tony Kozycki, said Wade legally immigrated to the U.S. as a teenager. He served in the U.S. Army for four years in the 1980s before starting a family in Georgia.

“I, for one, loved the uniform,” he recalled about his time in the 7^th Infantry Division, serving in Germany during the Cold War. “The discipline and the consistency of what that institution represents — be all you can be.”

After his military service, Wade, a green card holder, started a life in Georgia and worked in food services, including at H&F Burgers at The Battery in Atlanta, and most recently at the Georgia State Capitol.

In September 2025, Kozycki said Wade was pulled over for failing to use a turn signal. He also did not have a valid license.

During a traffic stop by the Rockdale County Sheriff’s Office, Wade was taken into ICE custody due an immigration hold.

Kozycki said that immigration hold was tied to a missed court hearing from 2014 and convictions from nearly 20 years ago.

Kozycki said Wade did not know about that 2014 hearing because he never received a Notice to Appear in 2012.

In documents provided to Atlanta Never First, on Feb. 7, 2012, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) issued a Notice to Appear, ordering Wade to show cause for why he should not be removed from the United States.

The document indicated Wade was served in person. However, that box appears to be scratched out, and instead a box “by regular mail” was marked.

The letter was addressed not to a residence but to the immigration court at “US ICE 180 Spring Street SW, Atlanta, GA 30303.”

“You’re supposed to have notice that you have to be there,” Kozycki explained. “That never happened. They then start sending letters to an address that was not associated with him.”

The hearing proceeded without him in 2014. Wade didn’t learn about the missed court date until 2019, when he attempted to renew his green card.

The underlying issues triggering the deportation proceeding dated back even further. According to the Notice to Appear, Wade was convicted on Jan. 31, 2008, of simple assault in violation of Georgia law, and on Jan. 28, 2008, of deposit account fraud, from a bounced check, both from Douglas County Superior Court.

Wade had since repaid the fraudulent check and resolved the assault charge through a plea deal, according to Kozycki.

Kozycki argued these old cases should not have resulted in a deportation, especially given Wade’s decades of lawful residency, military service and community contributions.

After his September 2025 traffic stop, Wade was transported to Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.

Wade says he never received a chance to go before a judge and argue his case to stay in the United States.

“I’m not asking for more for myself. I want what I just deserve, no more, no less,” Wade said. “And if so be the case, I put my trust in the justice system of this great country of America.”

Congressman David Scott, who represents Rockdale County, where Wade is from, wrote directly to Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, pleading for Wade to have his case heard before a judge. The letter went unanswered.

From Jamaica, Wade faces an uphill battle to reclaim his life. His family — including six children and grandchildren — are devastated by the separation.

“It weighs very heavily on our family,” said his fiancée, April Watkins.

Financial burdens compound the emotional toll, with Wade now starting over with nothing but “the clothes on my back.”

His family started a community fundraiser to help offset the legal fees and the financial burden to live away from Georgia.

“When people fall in love with this country, we really love this country, and we want this country to love us back,” he said.

Requests to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security for comment on why Wade was not afforded a hearing before deportation went unanswered.

Wade’s case highlights a broader truth, according to his attorney.

“Godfrey Wade’s case is really a highlight that if we are going to do this, we need to do it the right way,” Kozycki said. “If we need to fix our immigration system, we need to take great care in doing it.”

Kozycki is urging members of the public to contact lawmakers, state and federal, about Wade’s case.

The family launched an online petition to try to stop Wade’s deportation.

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