A Haitian Student in Springfield, Ohio Dies After ICE Fitted Him With an Ankle Monitor; His Family Says He Was Humiliated

Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Wright State University freshman from Springfield, Ohio, died Aug. 31, 2026 after stepping into traffic on Interstate 70, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said; its investigation remains open. His family says he took his own life. ICE fitted Bel with an ankle monitor on July 29, after the administration ended Temporary Protected Status for Haitians. In a July 30 Instagram post he wrote of walking "with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation."

Bel's death is the most severe reported consequence of the monitoring program that followed the end of Haitian TPS, and it has become the focus of local calls to stop fitting the devices on people with no criminal record.

ICE said it does not comment on cause of death while an investigation is pending, and will keep using alternatives to detention. The U.S. Army Cadet Command said the monitor was not why Bel went without an ROTC uniform. Gov. Mike DeWine called it a "horrible tragedy."