What was supposed to be a joyous time for Georgia barber Rodney Taylor after his recent engagement turned into a nightmare when Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents showed up at the couple’s doorstep and arrested him – threatening to deport him to Liberia, a country he left when he was a toddler.
The reason ICE issued for his planned deportation: a felony burglary conviction that he pleaded guilty to at 19 years old and was pardoned from in 2010, his attorney told CNN. Rodney is now detained at the Stewart Detention Center in Lumpkin, Georgia.
Arriving in the US for medical treatment, Taylor had later been out of status and waiting to get his green card application approved, his attorney said.
“I feel like an American. This is all I knew. I didn’t even know I was an immigrant until I was 17 years old,” Taylor told CNN from inside the detention center. “Going back to Liberia is like going back to a foreign country.”
Taylor, who’s a double amputee, says he’s now struggling to receive care and carry out basic tasks while in custody.
CNN has reached out to ICE for comment on Taylor’s detention. The agency lists him as being in custody on its online detainee database but does not provide further details.
Amid the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown, some longtime US residents like Taylor who have visas, work permits or green cards face possible deportation. Though they’ve been building a life in the country for decades – raising children, contributing to their communities and excelling in their careers – they might soon have to leave it all behind.
Immigration attorney Charles Kuck attributes the quick pace of detentions and deportations of long-term residents to the Trump administration’s focus on “easy cases,” facilitated by updated computer systems that flag any past convictions – even if they’re minor offenses that occurred many years ago. Those cases help ICE meet its quotas, according to Kuck.
While green card holders largely have the same rights as US citizens, they are subject to being questioned and put into deportation proceedings if they’ve committed a crime, multiple immigration attorneys told CNN. Those waiting for green cards, like Taylor, can also be removed.
“They can say this guy’s been a contributing member of society for 30 years. He’s a barber. He’s ill. He’s had amputations. He’s a good guy, except for this one mistake 20 years ago. Leave him alone,” Kuck told CNN, referring to Taylor. “But not using your discretion at all is abuse of discretion.”
From Washington to Georgia, longtime residents are fighting to remain in the country as the Trump administration expands its deportation campaign beyond undocumented migrants, flaring anxieties two months into his second term.
Rodney Taylor got engaged to fiancée Mildred Pierre about 10 days before he was detained.
A Newly Engaged Barber Who Loves to Give Back
Taylor had been planning a health fair to provide free health screenings, resources and haircuts to undocumented immigrants in his community. He had already started putting flyers up at his Snellville, Georgia, barber shop.
Then, as his fiancée Mildred Pierre was pulling out of their driveway to drop the kids off at school, ICE agents surrounded the home and detained Taylor on January 15, Pierre told CNN.
“I was scared, terrified, but we were surprised and very shocked,” Pierre said.
Days earlier, Taylor proposed to Pierre at her 40th birthday party, which was a surprise to her as it wasn’t in their “five-year plan,” she said. They were still on a high from the engagement when their life got turned upside down.
“Mommy, I miss daddy,” Pierre’s young daughter and Taylor’s soon-to-be step-daughter told her after he was detained.
Born in Liberia with severe disabilities, Taylor was brought by his mother to the US so that he could receive treatment, he told CNN. He was a toddler at the time.
When he was detained, Taylor had been out of status “for a long time,” but had a pending green card application and had the related work authorization approved, his attorney Sarah Owings told CNN.
Since Taylor arrived in the US so young, it’s unclear what kind of visa he had, Owings said. His adult son, who is a US citizen, later filed for a green card for him.
Georgia barber Rodney Taylor is being detained at the Stewart Detention Center.
Despite being pardoned for a burglary he committed as a teenager, he faces deportation, Owings said.
“How can the federal government not forgive me?” Taylor asked, speaking to CNN on the phone from inside the detention facility. “That’s what I don’t understand.”
Taylor has dedicated his life to helping others, volunteering any chance he gets, Pierre said.
He became a barber about 16 years ago because he finds fulfillment in making people feel and look good, he said. He’s loved by his clients, one of whom told Pierre he’s growing his hair out until Taylor is released, she recounted. “When I sit in his chair, it’s free therapy,” the client told her.
Taylor regularly gives free haircuts at community events, he said. He’s also been active in community health initiatives, particularly lung cancer awareness in the Black community.
“I got a lot of help when I got to this country with my disability and everything, so I just felt like I had to give back to people,” he said. “I try to do good. I try to do stuff for my community. Help people out. And it seems like all that doesn’t matter.”
Rodney Taylor poses with his fiancée Mildred Pierre and their children.
At the Stewart Detention Center, Taylor said his detention has been terrible because he’s been unable to get needed accommodations or adequate medical care.
As a double amputee, Taylor has to charge his prosthetics at least eight hours a day, which he says has been difficult to do. When his prosthetics broke recently, he initially was given only tape to fix them, Pierre said.
While he has been provided a wheelchair, he has been unable to use it because he has missing fingers, according to Pierre. Even basic tasks like showering or using the phone can be a struggle, he said.
“The facility cannot accommodate me at all,” he said. “So I’ve been deteriorating in here.”
Owings hopes to get Taylor released on bond at an immigration hearing scheduled in the upcoming week.
“I don’t believe that he is removable as they’ve charged him,” Owings said. “They’re ignoring evidence regarding the pardon that he received.”
With Taylor in custody, Pierre held the health fair on his behalf, providing medical services to over 100 people, she said.
“Although he’s detained, he feels like the community still needs to be served,” Pierre said.
