ICE left a Haitian immigrant on Pittsburgh’s streets. She died soon after

Daphy Michel’s death after being released by ICE has left more questions than answers, but her treatment has become common for immigrants released by federal officials. 

Many questions remain after Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials left Daphy Michel wandering the streets of South Pittsburgh for days before she was found dead at a bus stop earlier this month. 

Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian immigrant, who was in the country under Temporary Protected Status (TBS), was arrested last fall after suffering a mental health episode. She spent close to six months sitting in a Washington County jail cell going through the court system. 

WTAE reported that a judge dropped Michel’s charges on Feb. 26 and was processed by ICE officials in Pittsburgh to enroll her in their “Alternatives to Deportation” program and placed an ankle monitor on her the following day. 

Michel died on March 2, four days after her charges were dismissed, and ICE was notified about her ankle monitor being removed the next day.  

What happened to Michel in the days following her release is anyone’s guess, because she was left wandering around Pittsburgh, almost an hour away from her Charleroi, Washington County, residence, without any help from family or friends. 

“Daphy Michel’s death is heartbreaking, and my thoughts are with her family and loved ones as they search for answers,” US House Rep. Summer Lee (D-Allegheny) said in a statement.

“Daphy should not have been left alone and vulnerable after being released from federal custody in a city far from her family and support system, especially as she faced language barriers and mental health challenges.”

Releasing immigrants and exposing them to harsh weather conditions without proper support appears to be a common practice for ICE and other federal agencies. 

Videos of immigrants being released without coats, hats or gloves from the Whipple Federal Building in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during the winter were posted on social media as residents were in the midst of protesting the immigration agent killings of Alex Pretti and Renee Good. 

Last month, Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a blind refugee from Myanmar, was found dead in Buffalo, New York under similar circumstances after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released him from federal custody and dropped him off at a coffee shop miles away from his home. 

Jasmine Rivera, Executive Director  of the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition, explained how immigrants released from the Moshannon Valley Processing Center, an immigrant detention center located in Clearfield County, are not immune to this treatment.

 ”What happened to Ms. Michel is an absolute travesty, and unfortunately, far too common with the immigrant detention system,” Rivera said in an interview. 

She added, “we have primarily heard from our members who are working directly with those at Moshannon how folks will be released after buses have stopped running for the night, released with no way to contact their loved ones, as well as being dropped off in other towns in the state. This puts people in really dangerous situations.”

Allegheny County officials declined to provide comment on Michel’s death, but confirmed that the county’s medical examiner has jurisdiction over her case. Doctors originally stated that Michel died from cardiac arrest, but the medical examiner has not confirmed the official cause of death due to pending toxicology results. 

“When someone passes through government custody, there must be basic safeguards to ensure their safety and well-being. Right now, there are far more questions than answers about the circumstances that led to Daphy being released in Pittsburgh rather than returned to Washington County,” Lee said in a statement. 

“The Michel family and our community deserve a full accounting of what happened. We must ensure that no one else is put in this kind of position again.”