We call on Stewart Detention Center Warden Jason Streeval to support the immediate release of Rodney Taylor, a disabled double-amputee with serious and complex medical needs whose health has deteriorated over the past year in ICE custody. 

Rodney's medical issues are now life-threatening due to inconsistent and neglectful access to care at Stewart Detention Center, a facility in Georgia privately owned and operated by CoreCivic.  The unsanitary, overcrowded, and inhumane conditions at SDC have increased the risks to Rodney’s health and safety. 

Ensuring proper care is not discretionary; it is a basic medical necessity that Stewart Detention Center and ICE are legally bound to provide but have failed to deliver, especially for disabled individuals like Rodney.  SDC’s willful refusal to meet minimum requirements of medical care reflects a dangerous and unlawful disregard for the health and safety of the facility’s detainees.

No one should suffer irreversible harm because a detention facility cannot meet required medical and disability accommodation standards. Rodney Taylor is entitled to dignity, safety, and access to care according to federal detention standards, disability accommodation requirements, and constitutional due process protections.  Stewart Detention Center has shown over the past year that they are unable to meet these basic standards.  

We urge ICE and DHS to act immediately to prevent further harm and to facilitate Rodney Taylor’s release.  We call on SDC Warden Jason Streeval to support Rodney’s release and prevent, on his watch, another incident of extreme medical neglect and abuse that is a documented part of Stewart’s recent and storied history.

More about Rodney Taylor:

Rodney Taylor came to the United States over 40 years ago as a child to receive life-saving medical care. He has built a life here in Georgia, becoming a skilled barber in Atlanta and a dedicated volunteer in his community.  In January 2025, ICE detained him despite having a pending application for US residence (or green card). Rodney is a contributing member of our society who is being wrongfully held in conditions that no one would consider humane.  

Rodney is a double-amputee who relies on prosthetics to walk, but SDC has repeatedly failed to make adequate accommodations for his condition for the past 12 months.  Last summer, the air conditioning at Stewart went out for over a month, and when he complained, Rodney was placed in solitary confinement. On other occasions Rodney has been targeted for mistreatment by guards.  After a year at SDC Rodney's life hangs in the balance as his physical condition continues to deteriorate. 

The conditions at SDC are repeatedly cited as neglectful and inadequate, especially for individuals with disabilities like Rodney or for those with ongoing medical needs. Suicides have become increasingly common. These environments pose severe risks to the health of everyone held at the facility, with additional challenges for people like Rodney.

Elected officials must act swiftly to investigate and address this injustice and ensure that the basic human needs of all people in detention, especially those with disabilities and medical conditions, are met.  ICE must be held accountable for the treatment of all individuals in custody, regardless of their immigration status, and immediately release Rodney Taylor to prevent further harm.

The time for change is now. 

Please sign this petition to demand Rodney Taylor's immediate release on medical and humanitarian grounds and push for systemic changes that ensure dignified treatment of all detainees.