Left Behind: April Watkins on Losing Godfrey Wade to Deportation

Godfrey Wade came to Georgia from Jamaica in 1975. He was 15. He held a green card for 50 years, served in the U.S. Army, raised six kids, and built a life as a chef, a tennis coach, a designer. In September 2025, Rockdale County pulled him over for not using a turn signal. He was driving without a license. That stop woke up a 2014 removal order nobody told him about, tied to a 2006 assault charge and a 2007 bounced check.

Five months at Stewart Detention Center, then Richwood Correctional in Louisiana. An emergency stay of removal, denied. On February 5, 2026, ICE put him on a flight to Jamaica while his appeal was still open. Rep. David Scott asked DHS to stop it. DHS did not answer until four days after he was gone.

Tonight the panel sits down with April Watkins, Wade's fiancée, the one who has been telling this story since the day he was arrested. Fifty years living in this country, Army service along the way, and no hearing before a judge. Honorable service shouldn't be paid back with deportation.

Standing legal line, read on air: Wade's appeal and habeas petition are still active. Nothing said tonight is a finding on the underlying convictions. We are talking about due process, not adjudicating a closed case.

Then Hour Two is yours. Fire for Effect, CTA, and the Safety Brief.

Saturday, 2000 ET. Questions for the panel at 50501vets.com/ask.

Issues over party. Straight talk over spin.