Army Vet DEPORTED After Turn Signal Stop

A U.S. Army veteran who served his country honorably, lived lawfully in America for half a century, and raised six American children was deported to Jamaica after a traffic stop for failing to use a turn signal.

Story Snapshot

Godfrey Wade, 65, was detained by ICE for five months and deported despite 50 years of lawful U.S. residence and military service
A routine traffic stop for a minor violation triggered a dormant 2014 removal order Wade claims he never received notice about
The removal order stemmed from a bounced check Wade paid back and a simple assault charge involving no physical violence
Wade’s six children and three grandchildren are all U.S. citizens now separated from their father and grandfather
Congressional intervention by Rep. David Scott failed as DHS proceeded with deportation without notifying his office

When a Turn Signal Costs Everything

Godfrey Wade arrived in the United States lawfully in 1975 as a teenager from Jamaica. He served in the U.S. Army overseas, then built a civilian life in Georgia as a chef, tennis coach, and fashion designer. Six children and three grandchildren later, all American citizens, Wade had spent more than 50 years contributing to the only country his family had ever known. Then, on September 13, 2025, Wade failed to use a turn signal in Conyers, Georgia. That minor traffic violation triggered a chain of events that would tear his family apart and send him to a country he barely remembered.

The traffic stop resulted in an arrest for driving without a license. ICE immediately detained Wade, citing a 2014 removal order he claims he never knew existed. Court records reveal that hearing notices for the 2014 immigration proceeding were sent to an address ICE used, but those notices came back as undeliverable. Wade’s attorney, Tony Koczynski, maintains his client had no knowledge of the removal order until that September arrest. For nearly five months, Wade sat in ICE detention at Stewart Detention Center, the nation’s largest immigration detention facility, while his family scrambled to stop what seemed inevitable.

The Minor Charges That Became Deportation Grounds

The 2014 removal order traced back to two incidents from years earlier. In 2007, Wade wrote a bad check but later paid both the check and all associated fines. In 2006, he faced a simple assault charge that, according to his attorney, involved no physical violence whatsoever. These minor infractions, resolved years before aggressive immigration enforcement became the Trump administration’s priority, somehow became sufficient grounds to upend a life five decades in the making. The disproportion between the offenses and the consequence raises uncomfortable questions about how enforcement priorities align with American values of fairness and redemption.

Wade’s military service added another layer of complexity to his case. His daughter Emmanuela told reporters that her father “took pride” in his Army service and that it “made us believe in the U.S. Army.” That pride now sits uneasily alongside the reality that the country Wade served chose to enforce a removal order based on a bounced check and a non-violent misdemeanor from nearly two decades ago. The optics are troubling: a veteran who answered his country’s call gets detained at a facility Wade’s fiancée described as having “inhuman conditions” before deportation to a homeland he left as a teenager.

When Congressional Intervention Means Nothing

U.S. Representative David Scott formally requested that the Department of Homeland Security halt Wade’s deportation before it occurred. DHS ignored the request entirely. Scott’s office learned of the deportation four days after Wade was already in Jamaica. The congressman later issued a statement condemning what he called “the Trump Administration’s punitive and cruel immigration tactics,” emphasizing that Wade “served this country honorably and was entitled to due process.” The failure of congressional intervention reveals how powerless elected representatives have become when federal enforcement agencies decide to activate removal orders, regardless of individual circumstances or political pressure.

Wade’s case unfolded during the Trump administration’s second term, which prioritized aggressive deportation enforcement even against long-term residents with deep American roots. Polling data shows 49 percent of Americans view the deportation campaign as too aggressive, suggesting significant public discomfort with the scope and severity of enforcement actions. Yet cases like Wade’s continue, creating precedent that other long-term residents with minor historical infractions could face similar fates. The procedural failures in Wade’s case—undeliverable hearing notices, lack of notification about a removal order—compound concerns about whether due process protections function properly when ICE targets individuals for removal.

Fighting for Home From Abroad

Wade now sits in Jamaica, fighting to return to the United States from abroad while his legal appeal remains pending. An emergency stay of removal was already denied. His son Christian launched a GoFundMe campaign that has raised over $31,000 toward a $35,000 goal to support the legal battle and help Wade’s family manage the financial strain of his absence. Wade’s fiancée, April Watkins, described the emotional toll: “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.” The family’s suffering is real, immediate, and entirely avoidable.

Speaking to CNN from Jamaica, Wade expressed faith in American justice: “We are trusting in the justice system of my beloved country, the United States of America, that I loved so much and served.” That faith seems misplaced given the procedural failures and enforcement priorities that led to his deportation. Wade’s case demonstrates how immigration enforcement can prioritize bureaucratic completion of removal orders over common sense evaluation of individual circumstances. A man who lived lawfully for 50 years, served in the military, raised American children, and committed only minor offenses he addressed years ago now finds himself exiled from the only home he knew. The question isn’t whether Wade broke rules—it’s whether the punishment fits any reasonable standard of proportionality and whether Americans want an enforcement system that produces outcomes like this.