Another devastating case involving someone in federal custody is highlighting the serious life-or-death issues with Donald Trump’s aggressive anti-immigrant policy
According to The Guardian, the family of 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker Daphy Michel is preparing to sue the federal government after she froze to death just days after being released from ICE custody in Pittsburgh. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner ruled Michel’s death a homicide, finding that she was a vulnerable adult suffering from severe untreated mental illness and significant language barriers whose death resulted from the agency’s failures.
Michel had come to the United States from Haiti in 2022 seeking asylum and was living in western Pennsylvania. After spending six months in jail on charges that were ultimately dismissed, she was transferred to ICE custody instead of being reunited with her family. Her relatives say they were told someone would notify them when she was released so they could pick her up. That call never came.
Instead, Michel was released alone in Pittsburgh wearing clothing meant for much warmer weather, despite freezing temperatures hovering around 20 degrees. Surveillance footage reportedly shows her remaining at a bus shelter for more than 24 hours before she was eventually found unresponsive. She later died from hypothermia.
Her attorney disputes the Department of Homeland Security’s claims that Michel was released with everything she needed, arguing that her phone service had lapsed while she was incarcerated, she was unfamiliar with Pittsburgh, and her obvious mental health struggles made it dangerous to leave her on her own. DHS has denied responsibility via a Twitter post, maintaining that ICE “had nothing to do” with her death because she died several days after being released.
REMINDER: ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her.
Following her arrest by local authorities for Terroristic Threats and Harassment, Daphy Michel, an illegal alien from Haiti, was encountered by ICE and placed in removal proceedings. ICE issued her an ICE ankle monitor and she was released from ICE custody on February 27. She was released with all of her belongings, including a fully charged phone, in sunny weather in the middle of Pittsburgh, where public transport is readily available.
The heartbreaking case is the latest in a growing list of stories that have fueled concerns about how vulnerable immigrants are treated while in, or immediately after, federal immigration custody. As BOSSIP has previously reported, multiple families have alleged that neglect, inadequate medical care, and questionable release practices have contributed to serious injuries and deaths involving people in ICE custody.
Michel’s family says accountability is long overdue, and a lawsuit is expected to follow.
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