By Amanda Andrews
(Georgia Public Broadcasting) Rodney Taylor and his wife, Mildred, spoke publicly May 11, 2026, for the first time since he was released after 15 months in ICE custody.
Advocates for Rodney Taylor, a disabled Georgia barber who was held in detention by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 15 months, are celebrating his release. The family spoke at a press conference on Monday morning for the first time since Taylor was freed.
Taylor, a double amputee, was released from Southwest Georgia’s Stewart Detention Center on May 1. Last year, his wife, Mildred Taylor, began raising the alarm about his lack of medical care and access to food.
Rodney said his time at the detention center was “hell.”
“Stewart Detention Center is not equipped to handle people with disabilities,” he said. “The building is old and run down. Water leaks through the ceiling, through the cells when it rains. There are black mold deposits in the water, in the drinking water. Sometimes detainees go days without hot showers. Toilets and sinks often do not work properly.”
During the press conference, Mildred said advocating for her husband came with major financial sacrifices.
“I lost my job; everybody don’t like advocacy,” she said. “We lost one of our bigger cars. We face eviction every single month. We’re grateful that our phones are still on, that I had enough gas to attend all these events. And I’m a prideful woman. I don’t beg. I won’t say a word. I’ll suffer in silence.”
Still, Mildred reached out and received support from a coalition of attorneys, lawmakers, and community organizations. Groups like We Are CASA, Progress Georgia, Indivisible Georgia, and El Refugio, and Asian Americans Advancing Justice-Atlanta organized protests and raised awareness across the state.
After his release, Rodney said he received calls from friends who had been deported, and some who were still detained.
“Since I been free, they’re like, ‘We just can’t stop talking about it,'” he said. “‘You know you got released; we still can’t believe that.’ So, it’s a blessing for me. And for everybody else that’s still detained? Your day is coming.”
State and federal representatives at the event recognized Taylor’s release as an important step in the fight for immigration reform.
Georgia state Rep. Jasmine Clark said this is a win for people losing hope.
“This is the blueprint for it can be done,” she said. “Do not stop advocating. Do not stop calling. Do not stop fighting for what is right because it does work. Advocacy does work, but it only works when we refuse to let up, when we refuse to back down, and we refuse to be discouraged.”
U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath and her staff were in regular contact with Stewart Detention Center to ensure Rodney received proper treatment.
McBath said Rodney’s experience is an example of a larger problem.
“That’s why our work today cannot end here,” she said. “It cannot end with Rodney. Y’all, we have work to do. My colleagues and I in Congress, we will continue to do our job to provide oversight, to ask the hard questions, and to demand accountability from this administration.”
Rodney arrived in the U.S. decades ago from Liberia, Africa, at age 2 on a medical visa. He said he would not have been released without the support of the community.
“Some people in there they just, they in there just them by themselves and their family don’t know what to do,” he said. “I’ve learned that we have to continue fighting. That this thing is way bigger than everybody in here.”
Attorneys representing Rodney said his deportation case is still pending appeal. The Taylor family is accepting donations through GoFundMe to support their recovery.
