{"id":2692,"date":"2026-05-23T12:39:53","date_gmt":"2026-05-23T12:39:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usglobalnews.com\/2026\/05\/23\/theyre-playing-with-peoples-lives-the-double-amputee-detained-by-ice-speaking-out-at-public-events\/"},"modified":"2026-05-23T12:39:53","modified_gmt":"2026-05-23T12:39:53","slug":"theyre-playing-with-peoples-lives-the-double-amputee-detained-by-ice-speaking-out-at-public-events","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=2692","title":{"rendered":"\u2018They\u2019re playing with people\u2019s lives\u2019: the double amputee detained by ICE speaking out at public events"},"content":{"rendered":"<div style=\"border-color:var(--article-border);background-color:var(--article-inner-background)\" class=\"dcr-wqti5a\">\n<div class=\"dcr-2zxs1v\">\n<div style=\"--grid-area:media\" data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tr9ye5\">\n<figure id=\"672b04cf-4a74-4124-bd7f-e74f368d200d\" class=\"dcr-142siv7\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t8m8f2\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" alt=\"A man and woman lean together, smiling.\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/58af359fab3f7a47e56e23d643ed0e58356b518d\/0_131_1290_1032\/master\/1290.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"372\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-evn1e9\"><span class=\"dcr-v822l1\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-gup2gr\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fntg6k\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-1xgwz8b\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1os51wo\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Rodney Taylor and Mildred Danis-Taylor.<\/span> Photograph: Courtesy of Mildred Danis-Taylor<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-13fd1ms\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"672b04cf-4a74-4124-bd7f-e74f368d200d\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-4tmywn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-194i6pr\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-n4pnam\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1hdkqum\"><span class=\"dcr-hvsf4t\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1qvd3m6\">Rodney Taylor and Mildred Danis-Taylor.<\/span> Photograph: Courtesy of Mildred Danis-Taylor<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:border\" data-gu-name=\"border\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\"><\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:headline\" data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-14emo0l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1aqe7zu\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-1k1a1x\">\u2018They\u2019re playing with people\u2019s lives\u2019: the double amputee detained by ICE speaking out at public events<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:standfirst\" data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1fnjjtg\">\n<div class=\"dcr-b3fmmo\">\n<p>With wife Mildred, Rodney Taylor of Atlanta was moved to activism after his detention led to deteriorating health<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:body\" data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-kn9unn\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1a4fred\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-ydnaza\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-1c9t5u6\">\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney Taylor stood outside on a balmy late afternoon recently in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/atlanta\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Atlanta<\/a>\u2019s Candler Park neighborhood, relishing his first root beer float in a year and a half.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Released on 1 May from Georgia\u2019s Stewart Detention Center, the Liberia-born barber had been detained since 15 February of last year, after <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">ICE<\/a> agents with guns drawn dragged him from his car in front of his house, while his two youngest children, now eight and six, looked on from the back seat. Now he was all smiles, surrounded by family and supporters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He had just spoken at his second public event in two weeks, a fundraiser for his family. During his detention, his wife, Mildred Danis-Taylor, lost her job, and the family lost one of their two cars. With Mildred nearby, the two spoke exclusively to the Guardian about his first few weeks of freedom and their future.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney, 47, is a green-card applicant and double amputee with prosthetic legs. He was brought by his mother to the US from Liberia on a medical visa as a young child. ICE detained him <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/apr\/25\/ice-immigration-detention\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">due to a burglary conviction<\/a> from when he was a teenager that Georgia pardoned him for in 2010, according to his attorney, Sarah Owings, who shared paperwork from his case.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He lacks three fingers on his right hand and has high blood pressure. His health deteriorated significantly in ICE detention, including the development of painful bone spurs in his back.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Still, despite a habeas corpus petition, multiple protests, letters from state elected officials and, on 4 March, Georgia US representative Lucy McBath holding up a <a href=\"https:\/\/jayapal.house.gov\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/Rodney-Taylor-Final-Ltr-2.17.26.pdf\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">letter<\/a> in a Capitol Hill hearing room detailing Stewart\u2019s dangerous conditions \u2013 signed by McBath and 20 fellow lawmakers and citing the Guardian\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/feb\/21\/pramila-jayapal-ice-double-amputee-georgia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reporting<\/a> \u2013 ICE kept Rodney locked up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">That ended this month, when there was unexpected laughter on his arrival home in Loganville, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/state-of-georgia\" data-link-name=\"in body link\" data-component=\"auto-linked-tag\">Georgia<\/a>, where he was greeted by a Christmas tree.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Mildred had decided to leave the symbol of the holiday standing in the living room \u201cuntil he comes home\u201d. So when Rodney entered the house, the first photo they took was in front of the tree. They sent it to a cousin in Texas. He called, upset: \u201cYou mean you\u2019ve been home since Christmas and you didn\u2019t tell me?\u201d They FaceTimed him, laughing.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Mildred also began receiving calls from \u201cnumbers we\u2019ve never seen\u201d, Rodney said. They were from former fellow detainees, calling from countries where they\u2019d been deported: India, Nigeria, Indonesia.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">They had seen the news that Rodney was released. \u201cI can\u2019t believe you made it!\u201d they said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt was amazing that I could speak to them on the outside,\u201d Rodney said. \u201cBut I also felt bad, because they got deported. It was bittersweet.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">The Guardian <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/mar\/25\/ice-immigration-prison-noem\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">reported<\/a> on Mildred\u2019s transformation from a healthcare worker to an advocate and activist \u2013 not only on behalf of her husband, but other detainees and their loved ones.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney has gone through his own transformation. \u201cWhen I saw how they were treating people [in Stewart], I was like: \u2018This is too much. This system, they rigged it, just for money,\u2019\u201d he told a small crowd at the fundraiser. \u201cThey\u2019re playing with people\u2019s lives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Another change: having spent most of his life in the US, he never saw himself as an immigrant. Leading an active life cutting hair at a barber shop and helping care for a large family, he also never saw himself as disabled. \u201cNow it\u2019s different,\u201d he said. \u201cI learned to see myself that way.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cPeople see me as an inspiration,\u201d he added. \u201cI don\u2019t want to take that away from them.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">As if on cue, a young man talking to his cellphone camera came up to Rodney on the sidewalk, telling his social media followers: \u201cRodney Taylor\u2019s a barber. He\u2019s a double amputee, y\u2019all \u2013 and they locked him up! He didn\u2019t do nothin\u2019! But don\u2019t worry because guess what \u2013 he\u2019s out!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">He turned the camera to Rodney, who flashed a peace sign. \u201cWhat was it like in there?\u201d the young man asked. \u201cIt was hell,\u201d Rodney said. The would-be influencer continued on his way.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney and Mildred would like to open a barber shop and community center where they can hold events on issues from immigration reform to healthcare. On the two occasions the couple have appeared in public since Rodney\u2019s release, people have urged Mildred to apply her organizing skills and passion to politics, and run for office.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney supports the idea: \u201cI tell her: \u2018You gotta run for city council, start small, show \u2019em what you\u2019re made of.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Meanwhile, Rodney says, he\u2019s still adjusting to being free. He eats out a lot \u2013 three times at Waffle House. He takes two naps a day, lacks energy. He\u2019s spending this week at medical appointments, including getting his prosthetic legs properly calibrated \u2013 something that never happened while he was detained, worsening his health.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Their youngest children \u201ccling to him\u201d at home, Mildred said. The wife of another detainee told her to expect them to have trauma responses, especially since they were in the car when ICE agents took their father.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney has taken their three older children out to dinner, one by one, Mildred said. They range in age from 16 to 21. \u201cHe\u2019s like their therapist,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"c6a6f473-3674-4254-8c2a-f91c93dc1338\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-47fhrn\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-22 | 22\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1kyw41h\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-1ljij2n\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/21\/ice-immigration-oregon-facial-recognition\" class=\"dcr-1m887w9\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-ut4tvs\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1h5b6rb\">\n<div class=\"dcr-169d7yv\">Video shows ICE violently arresting Oregon farm workers and using facial recognition<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-eurq8n\">\n<div class=\"dcr-fkf7vq\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Mildred worries about him being detained again, particularly when she travels to the many events where she has become a fixture, drawing attention to the conditions faced by ICE detainees, particularly those with disabilities and serious medical conditions.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cIt\u2019s still surreal,\u201d she said. \u201cI don\u2019t want him to go back \u2026 It\u2019s harder for me to go out of town.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Owings, Rodney\u2019s attorney, said his release resulted from multiple pressures: \u201cEvery time long-term detention cases have resulted in releases, it\u2019s due to a multi-dimensional effort \u2013 advocates, family, media, lawyers, Congress.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Rodney has to check in with ICE on an app every week and the agency visits his house monthly. His immigration status remains unresolved, as he has an appeal lodged before the board of immigration appeals, part of the Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">Until that happens, he feels the responsibility, together with Mildred, to keep speaking up.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-130mj7b\">\u201cI\u2019ve been given a lot, so a lot is required of me,\u201d Rodney said at his fundraiser. \u201cUntil ICE is abolished.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-qxqnsy\"><span class=\"dcr-1rq3vad\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-1dzx48f\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-1rrvs2w\">\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/usimmigration\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US immigration<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/state-of-georgia\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Georgia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/ice-us-immigration-and-customs-enforcement\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">ICE (US Immigration and Customs Enforcement)<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/world\/liberia\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">Liberia<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-hj8byr\"><a href=\"\/tone\/features\" class=\"dcr-1gwziyt\">features<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-nu129i\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=%E2%80%98They%E2%80%99re%20playing%20with%20people%E2%80%99s%20lives%E2%80%99:%20the%20double%20amputee%20detained%20by%20ICE%20speaking%20out%20at%20public%20events&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/may\/23\/rodney-taylor-amputee-ice-detention-speaking-out?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-125qj9d\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-zhx6xs\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Fmay%2F23%2Frodney-taylor-amputee-ice-detention-speaking-out&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/may\/23\/rodney-taylor-amputee-ice-detention-speaking-out\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-14rjinq\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div style=\"--grid-area:right-column\" data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1h2hraq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-tn16h9\">\n<section class=\"dcr-1hko8ef\"><\/section>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Rodney Taylor and Mildred Danis-Taylor. Photograph: Courtesy of Mildred Danis-Taylor View image in fullscreen Rodney Taylor and Mildred<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":2694,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2692","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-world-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2692","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2692"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2692\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2694"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2692"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2692"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2692"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}