Rodney Taylor struggles to use his wheelchair and prosthetic legs as health deteriorates in immigration detention, says family

Rodney Taylor’s health is deteriorating, his wife Mildred Danis-Taylor, told 285 South this week. When she visited her husband at the Stewart Detention Center a few weeks ago, where he’s been detained since January 2025, he was struggling to use his wheelchair.  “Last May, he fell while in detention, and fractured his right hand. When I saw him, he used his left hand to get to visitation. He said it was incredibly painful to do. He dreaded going back to his cell because of that.”  He’s also lost so much weight, around 20 pounds, she said, that his prosthetic legs no longer fit him properly. 

Rodney is a double amputee and Gwinnett County resident who came to the U.S. from Liberia more than 40 years ago. Just a toddler at the time, his mother brought him to the U.S. for medical treatment for his legs. In January of 2025, he was detained by immigration officials at his home in Loganville. He was in the process of applying for a legal status, had a social security number, and his work permit was approved on January 17, three days after he was arrested by ICE. He had received a burglary conviction as a teenager, which the state pardoned. He is currently fighting his immigration case in federal court.  

Mildred and her daughters, Sasha Taylor and Nya Saint-Fleur, along with advocates from CASA and the Black Alliance of Just Immigration, travelled to Washington D.C. for a House Judiciary Committee on Wednesday to raise awareness about Rodney’s declining health as he enters his 14th month in detention.

U.S. House Representative Lucy McBath, who represents Georgia’s sixth district, was at the hearing, and has been in touch with Rodney’s family about his situation. She told fellow lawmakers that Rodney is dependent on other detainees to bring  food to his cell, and his disabilities make it nearly impossible for him to shower. “When he finally got a shower stool, he found moldy showers covered in feces and bodily fluids,” she said. “Rodney must crawl through that muck and squalor of feces and bodily fluids to enter and exit the shower. This is despicable. It’s inhumane torture that no person should have to endure.” 

At the hearing, former Secretary of Homeland Security, Kristi Noem, said she wasn’t aware of his case. “I will certainly look into it and ensure that this center, where Rodney is, is held to the same standards as all our federal detention standards,” Noem said.

But a day after, on Thursday afternoon, she was removed from her position and President Trump has selected Oklahoma Senator Markwayne Mullin to take her place. It is unclear now if the new secretary will review his case.

Two weeks ago, U.S. lawmakers from Georgia wrote a letter to former Secretary Noem requesting Rodney’s release due to his deteriorating medical condition. In late January, the Department of Homeland Security reportedly stopped paying its outside medical providers for detainee care since October last year, which has led to some detainees being denied medical treatment. 

Mildred said that knowing this is on lawmakers’ radar gives her some hope. 

Moments before the hearing, Mildred said Rodney spoke with Rep. McBath over the phone. “He got so emotional,” Mildred said. “He said: ‘I never thought this day would happen, where people would be speaking about my story on a national level.’”

*Mildred launched a GoFundMe campaign in March 2025 to help manage the costs of Rodney’s legal fees.