The manager of acclaimed Roxbury restaurant Suya Joint is now home after spending more than three months in a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center.
Paul Dama, the operational manager at Suya Joint, was released late in the evening last Thursday after being granted asylum earlier in the week, according to his sister and Suya Joint owner Cecelia Lizotte.
“It came as a shock to him as well,” Lizotte said. “He just heard his name, to pack his stuff and he’s leaving. So he called me. When I got the phone call, I was very much very excited because I heard his voice on the other side.”
Lizotte said she received the call around 9 p.m. and drove to pick up Dama, who had been transferred from Dover, N.H. to an ICE facility in Burlington. A video shared by Suya Joint on Instagram shows a smiling Lizotte and Dama leaving the facility.
“ As soon as I saw him coming out of the office, I was screaming with joy,” Lizotte said.
Dama was arrested by ICE on June 15 while on his way to church. ICE officials said he overstayed his visitor visa, which expired in 2019, and that he had two prior convictions for operating under the influence.
Dama’s attorney said he did everything he was required to do for those charges, had a valid work authorization and an asylum case that had been pending for years.
A judge granted Dama’s request for asylum last week Tuesday, which means he’s entitled to work in the U.S. and apply for permanent residency. The government has until Oct. 23 to appeal the decision.
Lizotte said the asylum ruling and her brother’s release has been “a sigh of relief.”
Dama’s months-long detention left Lizotte struggling to keep the business going as she juggled the Roxbury restaurant and a second location in Providence, all while trying to help with her brother’s case. Now, Lizotte looks forward to having Dama back helping run the business.
“A burden has just been lifted off of me. I feel lighter,” Lizotte said.
Dama has stopped by the restaurant but it may take some time before he fully returns, according to Lizotte. She said Dama has been focused on resting and reconnecting with friends and family as he resettles back at home.
“Now it’s like, yay, I don’t have to answer phone calls from attorneys or give them information,” Lizotte said. ”I’m excited to see on my caller ID ‘Paul Dama’ calling me versus the New Hampshire jail trying to get through to me.”
This article was originally published on WBUR.org.
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