PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WPRI) — After spending most of the summer in federal immigration custody, the manager of an acclaimed local West African restaurant has been granted asylum and finally reunited with his family.

For more than three months, a tight-knit community felt a painful void amid the absence of Paul Dama.

Dama, a husband, brother, uncle and key leader at Suya Joint — an award-winning restaurant serving authentic Nigerian cuisine in Boston and Providence — was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents on June 15.

According to his sister Cecelia Lizotte, who owns Suya Joint, Dama was abruptly stopped while on his way into church that Sunday.

At the time, ICE Boston spokesperson James Covington told 12 News that Dama was an "illegally present Nigerian alien"

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