Simon Guobadia, the estranged husband of Real Housewives of Atlanta star Porsha Williams, has been taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Citing Department of Homeland Security records, U.S. Weekly reported on Friday, Feb. 21, that Guobadia is being held at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia. He is listed as “in ICE custody.”
Related: Porsha Williams Confirms Simon Guobadia’s ‘Questionable’ Immigration Status Led to Divorce
After the news of his detention was made public, Williams posted and deleted a statement on Instagram.
“It’s disheartening to see my estranged husband make choices that have led to this outcome. At this moment my priority is moving forward with my family,” she wrote, according to People.
Guobadia, 60, is a native of Nigeria.
His detainment comes after President Donald Trump returned to the White House and his administration follows through on a campaign promise to deport undocumented immigrants.
As Urban Hollywood 411 reported in February 2024, Guobadia has had multiple run-ins with ICE.
The Nigerian entrepreneur had been trying to obtain citizenship for years, but was denied because of alleged criminal activity.
In March 2023, he filed a 13-page petition against U.S. immigration executives for rejecting his naturalization application, but court records — which listed him as Simon Iyore Guobadia — showed a federal judge dismissed Guobadia’s claim in January 2024.
According to the documents, Guobadia’s naturalization application was denied on July 27, 2022. He requested a hearing on the denial, but that request was rejected as well.
The documents said he first entered the U.S. on Aug. 11, 1982. Immigration officials said Guobadia overstayed his visa and in 1985 he was declared “deportable.” Instead of being forced out, the documents said he left the U.S. voluntarily on Dec. 28, 1985.
He re-entered the U.S. in June 1986, and “overstayed his 6-month visitor visa,” the court papers said.
“In September 1987, petitioner was arrested for bank and credit card fraud and pleaded guilty to a felony offense,” according to the documents.
Two years later, Guobadia “was arrested in January 1989 for unauthorized use of a vehicle and again in May 1990 for fraud. Thereafter the agency began removal proceedings,” the documents stated. He was “deported and physically removed from the United States” on March 4, 1992.
The federal government alleged before his removal that Guobadia used a “different identity” to obtain temporary resident status under the Special Agricultural Workers (SAW) Program. The petition was approved and he was granted a permanent residency card on April 27, 1992. But immigration officials said they later discovered he “did not include his criminal history” on the application.
At some point, he returned to the U.S.
Guobadia made his debut on season 13 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta alongside his ex-wife, RHOA alum Falynn Pina.
He later began dating her co-star Porsha Williams. The two were married in November 2022. In February 2024, Williams filed for divorce after 15 months of marriage.
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