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The owner of a popular West African restaurant in Roxbury may suspend operations after its “beloved” manager was detained by immigration agents last week.
Paul Dama, who oversees operations at Suya Joint in Nubian Square, was driving to church in Brockton on Father’s Day, when he was pulled over and detained, according to Cecelia Lizotte, Dama’s sister and the restaurant’s chef and owner.
“At first, I thought it was like April Fool’s,” Lizotte said in an interview. “It’s like, I just woke up one day and my brother is nowhere to be found.”
Now, Lizotte said she’s thinking about closing the restaurant, at least temporarily, while she deals with her brother’s immigration case.
“I‘m running back and forth, trying to get the information that the [immigration] attorneys need, and then my establishment also needs me,” she said. “So I’m on the verge of either feeling defeated on a daily basis or just breaking down. ... It’s a lot for one person to navigate.“
Dama, 46, is being held in Dover, N.H., according to a public ICE database. Lizotte said a bond hearing scheduled for July 3 will determine whether he can walk free. His lawyer could not be reached for comment.
A fundraiser launched for Dama’s legal fees had raised nearly $20,000 as of Thursday afternoon.
“This sudden and painful event has shaken our family to the core, and we are currently navigating both emotional and legal challenges surrounding his detention,” the post reads. “Because of this, we are taking time to reflect and reassess what comes next for Suya Joint.”
“While we are not closing at this time, we are seriously considering what’s best for our team, our mission, and our family,” it continued.
Lizotte, who emigrated from Nigeria in 1999, opened the first Suya Joint restaurant in Roslindale in 2012 before moving to Roxbury four years later. The West African eatery is inspired by an establishment run by Lizotte’s grandmother, in her native village of Qua’an Pan.
The restaurant has been recognized as a semifinalist for the prestigious James Beard Award, as well as by Eater Boston and Boston Magazine.
Suya Joint recently opened a second location in Providence and employs 32 people across both locations, Lizotte said. Dama also sometimes works at the Rhode Island location.
Dama immigrated to the United States from Nigeria in 2019 to join his sister and her family. He has an ongoing asylum case and has authorization to work legally in the country, his sister said.
Aside from working as a manager, Dama also helps out in the kitchen.
“He’s a jack of all trades,” Lizotte said. “When Paul walks in to the establishment, if a printer is broken, he fixes it. ‘Oh, the sink is not going down.’ He finds a way to fix it.”
Dama is also trained as a social worker. Alongside his duties at the restaurant, he most recently worked at a care home, attending to five elderly men with developmental disabilities.
“He’s kind, intelligent, hard working, one of our best employees,” said Cathy Conrade, a social worker who worked with Dama until earlier this year. “I’ve been around so long, I’ve met lots of wonderful people, but he really stands out as one of the one of the best.”
Conrade said Dama and many immigrants like him come from highly qualified professional backgrounds, but settle for work in the US that is seen as menial and unglamorous.
“They’ll take roles that, quite frankly, in our country, are devalued,” she said. “Dealing with human beings has not become an elevated position yet. So they will take work that other people won’t do, and do it well, and do three jobs all at the same time.”
Agnes Hodge, of Dorchester, described Dama as her adopted son. Hodge, 84, said in a phone interview she knew him from their time living in Nigeria. Dama acted as a caregiver for her in the US, helping Hodge buy groceries and other items — until he was abruptly detained.
Since then, she hasn’t been eating or sleeping — partly out of concern, and partly out of necessity, she said.
“Nobody else has come by,” Hodge said. “My life is on hold.”
Lizotte said the news of her brother’s detention was “really devastating” for the rest of the close-knit family.
“My daughter works at Shaw’s, and it’s almost like each time she has a five minute break, she’d call me in tears,” she said. “And I have to find a way to just be like, ‘Please be strong. I know you’re at work. I’m so sorry that I gave this type of news to you. But wipe your tears and pray and be hopeful.’”
Lizotte said her brother is scared because of the conditions, adding that several migrants in the same facility have been held there for months.
Dama faced two separate charges of operating under the influence last year, according to court records. On both instances, he was allegedly found asleep in his car, which was stopped on a public road with the engine running.
The charges were disposed after Dama paid $1,200 in fines, had his license temporarily suspended, and was placed on year-long probation through December 2025, per court records.
Despite his legal issues, several friends and family members submitted letters to support his immigration case.
Jeffrey Lizotte, Cecelia’s husband, said in a letter that Dama had been kidnapped and held for ransom in Nigeria before coming to the US. He added that his brother-in-law is college-educated, a practicing Catholic, and a fluent English speaker, whose moral character is “beyond reproach.” Dama’s misdemeanor offenses, he added, do ”not merit detainment and deportation, in my view.”
“I fully understand the need to keep our borders secure from those who wish to harm our people or destroy our culture,” he wrote. “But I can tell you in all sincerity that is not who Paul is. He is a good person who always puts the needs of others first. He does not deserve to be going through this harrowing experience.”
Massachusetts State Senator Liz Miranda, a Boston Democrat who represents Roxbury, also wrote a letter of support for Dama, as did Rhode Island State Representative David Morales, who described Dama as an “exemplary individual” who has “built a life for himself and his family.”
“Even with all the challenges he’s had to face, he’s continued being a positive member of our community,” Morales wrote. “Paul poses no threat to our community, and I’m concerned that he is currently detained at a detention facility in New Hampshire as if he does.”
Jeremiah Manion of the Globe Staff contributed reporting.