Atlanta man speaks publicly after being released from ICE detention
Rodney Taylor, a double amputee and Atlanta father of seven, spoke out for the first time since he was reunited with his family after spending more than a year in custody at a South Georgia immigration detention center.
Taylor came to the United States with his mother at the age of 2 from Liberia and has lived in the country for decades. He was detained in connection with a decades-old burglary charge from 1997, which was later pardoned in 2010, advocates said.
The Atlanta barber's case drew attention from lawmakers across Georgia and around the country as well as disability rights and immigration advocates, who said that Taylor suffered from medical neglect while in custody at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
In early May, Taylor was released to his family. He had spent more than 16 months in ICE custody.
Mildred Taylor, Rodney's wife, has been a vocal advocate for her husband's release. At a press conference on Monday, she thanked everyone who helped them arrive at this point.
"This fight was not a fight by ourself. It took every single person. Every person that held up a 'Free Rodney Taylor' sign. Every person that made a phone call. Every person that put gas in they car and drove to Stewart. Every person who wrote an email. Every person that sent a text message. Every person that said 'Hey, Mil, how is Rodney doing?' Anyone that said his name and thought about our family," Mildred Taylor said. "It was because of you, each and every one of you, that allowed this moment, this very moment, to happen."
She described her husband as a "loving, caring, sweet, patient, giving man."
Rodney Taylor and some of his family pose with their Christmas Tree after Taylor was released over the weekend.
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Rodney Taylor also thanked the people across the country who rallied for him to be released from detention for their support, saying, "It's been a long journey."
"Months ago, I wouldn't have believed I would be here right now. So, you know, it's just a blessing from the Lord that I am here with my beautiful wife, my family - words can't express this feeling," Taylor said.
He said that when he arrived in detention, he was told that he would be deported in three months.
"No going to court, no seeing a judge, not anything," he said.
Rodney Taylor thanked supporters who rallied to get him out of ICE detention.
CBS News Atlanta
Taylor described detention at Stewart as "hell" saying that he struggled to charge his prosthetics and wasn't fed for weeks because "they expected me the length of a football field six times a day to get some meals."
He called the conditions at the Lumpkin County detention center "unacceptable," saying that they would be shut down if there was any "real oversight."
"It can take two weeks just to see a nurse and another two weeks just to see a doctor. Meanwhile, people are suffering and losing their lives," he said. "These are human beings, but they treat us like cattle, waiting to be slaughtered, or, in this case, deported."
Now out of detention, Taylor said his focus is to rebuild his life with his family.
Dan Raby, the senior digital producer for CBS News Atlanta, has been covering everything happening around Georgia for more than a decade.
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Georgia double amputee speaks out after release from ICE custody: "They treat us like cattle"
/ CBS Atlanta
Rodney Taylor, a double amputee and Atlanta father of seven, spoke out for the first time since he was reunited with his family after spending more than a year in custody at a South Georgia immigration detention center.
Taylor came to the United States with his mother at the age of 2 from Liberia and has lived in the country for decades. He was detained in connection with a decades-old burglary charge from 1997, which was later pardoned in 2010, advocates said.
The Atlanta barber's case drew attention from lawmakers across Georgia and around the country as well as disability rights and immigration advocates, who said that Taylor suffered from medical neglect while in custody at Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
In early May, Taylor was released to his family. He had spent more than 16 months in ICE custody.
Mildred Taylor, Rodney's wife, has been a vocal advocate for her husband's release. At a press conference on Monday, she thanked everyone who helped them arrive at this point.
"This fight was not a fight by ourself. It took every single person. Every person that held up a 'Free Rodney Taylor' sign. Every person that made a phone call. Every person that put gas in they car and drove to Stewart. Every person who wrote an email. Every person that sent a text message. Every person that said 'Hey, Mil, how is Rodney doing?' Anyone that said his name and thought about our family," Mildred Taylor said. "It was because of you, each and every one of you, that allowed this moment, this very moment, to happen."
She described her husband as a "loving, caring, sweet, patient, giving man."
Rodney Taylor also thanked the people across the country who rallied for him to be released from detention for their support, saying, "It's been a long journey."
"Months ago, I wouldn't have believed I would be here right now. So, you know, it's just a blessing from the Lord that I am here with my beautiful wife, my family - words can't express this feeling," Taylor said.
He said that when he arrived in detention, he was told that he would be deported in three months.
"No going to court, no seeing a judge, not anything," he said.
Taylor described detention at Stewart as "hell" saying that he struggled to charge his prosthetics and wasn't fed for weeks because "they expected me the length of a football field six times a day to get some meals."
He called the conditions at the Lumpkin County detention center "unacceptable," saying that they would be shut down if there was any "real oversight."
"It can take two weeks just to see a nurse and another two weeks just to see a doctor. Meanwhile, people are suffering and losing their lives," he said. "These are human beings, but they treat us like cattle, waiting to be slaughtered, or, in this case, deported."
Now out of detention, Taylor said his focus is to rebuild his life with his family.
Dan Raby, the senior digital producer for CBS News Atlanta, has been covering everything happening around Georgia for more than a decade.
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