By Stacy M. Brown
Black Press USA Senior National Correspondent
The case of Rodney Taylor, a disabled Black immigrant detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, is forcing Congress to confront new evidence of medical neglect, unchecked raids, and a hiring system that has shifted under President Donald Trump’s order to build the largest deportation force in modern history. Taylor’s family was scheduled to speak outside the Capitol on Dec. 4, following a House Judiciary Subcommittee hearing on Immigration Integrity, Security, and Enforcement.
Taylor, who lost both legs years before his detention, has been held in Georgia since January. CNN reported earlier this year that Taylor said, “Going back to Liberia is like going back to a foreign country,” as ICE pressed forward with deportation efforts despite a full pardon, he received in 2010 for a 1997 burglary conviction. His wife, Mildred Pierre, said Taylor’s health has declined sharply since entering custody. “The world needs to know what is happening to people like Rodney including solitary confinement, no access to water, impairment and even falling as a result of limited medical attention for his prosthetics that requires charging daily,” said Pierre, during remarks prepared for Congress.
The conditions described by Taylor’s family reveal many of the failures that permeate ICE facilities. A study published by the University of Pennsylvania’s Leonard Davis Institute found that more than half of the ICE facilities examined lacked year-round physician coverage. The analysis reported that five facilities had no behavioral-health staff for at least one year and that more than ten percent of physicians working inside detention carried state sanctions for violations including falsified medical documentation or practicing under the influence.
Government oversight records cited in the report found that a detention center in Buffalo housing more than 700 people had no physician or dentist on site and might not have one until 2026. The same data chronicled the death of a detainee in Colorado who suffered a pulmonary embolism after reporting weeks of leg swelling and pain but was assessed three times only by licensed practical nurses despite the facility’s claim that a physician was present.
Pressure inside the system escalated as Trump ordered ICE to dramatically increase arrests and deportations. Government records reviewed by Politico showed that twenty detainees have died in ICE custody since Trump took office, a number nearly matching the total deaths recorded during the entire Biden administration. Politico reported that the population inside ICE detention has reached more than 60,000 people, with tent facilities and frequent transfers contributing to lost medical records and interrupted treatment.
Attorneys representing detainees described a pattern of worsening medical neglect. “I have a client right now who has untreated diabetes — they just stopped giving her medicine,” said Rebekah Wolf, a staff attorney with the American Immigration Council, during an interview with Politico.
At the same time, internal oversight weakened. Reportedly, the Department of Homeland Security attempted to eliminate its civil-rights and detention-ombudsman offices earlier this year before lawsuits forced the offices to reopen. Hundreds of oversight staff members were laid off afterward during a government-wide reduction in force, and inspectors general who had monitored detention conditions were dismissed.
The administration’s hiring campaign has transformed ICE’s workforce. Government Executive reported that ICE was granted $8 billion to hire 10,000 new officers and agents. Reports suggest that Tyshawn Thomas, the agency’s chief human capital officer, left ICE to return to another federal position during what sources described as a disordered hiring system. Further, ICE lowered age requirements, offered $50,000 signing bonuses, and rushed recruits into the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center before completing fingerprinting, drug testing, or background checks.
Training standards also shifted. “Recruits are now relying on translation apps,” said the Department of Homeland Security, during communications with USA Today, as the agency acknowledged ending a five-week basic Spanish requirement. The outlet reported that training for recruits without prior law enforcement experience was cut from sixteen weeks to eight.
A separate investigation detailed deeper problems inside the training center in Georgia. “We have people failing open-book tests and we have folks that can barely read or write English,” said one Department of Homeland Security official, during an interview with the Daily Mail. The outlet reported that one recruit asked to leave class to attend a court hearing on a gun charge, several recruits displayed gang-related tattoos, and others were involved in fights, harassment, and misconduct on campus. “They only care about how many unique individuals ‘Enter on Duty.’ What happens after that is irrelevant to them,” said another Department of Homeland Security official.
Raids across the country highlight these shifts. People’s World reported that ICE agents entered churches in Chicago after the administration reversed longstanding policies restricting enforcement in religious spaces. “It is the aim of the administration to terrorize people,” said Rev. Primo Racimo of St. Margaret of Scotland Episcopal Church.
In New York, amNewYork published security-camera footage showing ICE agents forcing their way into a basement apartment in Queens while searching for someone who did not live there. The outlet said an agent pointed a gun and flashlight at a mother holding her infant as she pleaded for them to stop. “Then I’m coming to get you by your baby,” said one ICE agent, during the incident recorded on video.
Human Rights Watch documented similar raids in Los Angeles in which agents wearing masks and carrying military-style weapons took people into custody based on race, ethnicity, language, or occupation. “They tear apart families, cause people to live in fear, and showcase the cruelty of the Trump administration’s immigration policies,” said John Raphling, associate United States program director at Human Rights Watch, during an interview with the organization.
For Pierre, the testimony is both a warning and a plea. “The world needs to know what is happening to people like Rodney including solitary confinement, no access to water, impairment and even falling as a result of limited medical attention for his prosthetics that require charging daily,” said Pierre, during remarks prepared for Congress.
