A 20-year-old Haitian immigrant in Ohio died Monday (August 31) after walking into traffic, with his family saying he had become increasingly distressed after losing Temporary Protected Status (TPS) and being placed on an ICE ankle monitor.
Pierre Damas Bel parked his car on the shoulder of Interstate 70 in Springfield, Ohio, before walking into westbound traffic, according to the Ohio State Highway Patrol. He was struck by a tractor-trailer and pronounced dead at the scene, The Washington Post reported.
Bel’s father, Pierres Ronal Bel, said his son called him Monday morning and said, “I’m not feeling okay.” His father said Bel appeared “distressed” during the conversation.
Bel’s family believes he died by suicide.
Bel was among an estimated 350,000 Haitian immigrants who recently lost Temporary Protected Status after the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration to proceed with ending the protections on July 27.
As BIN reported last month, Haitian immigrants in Springfield have been summoned to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) appointments following the end of TPS, with some having their passports taken and being fitted with ankle monitors.
Bel had a pending asylum claim but was summoned to an ICE office, where federal immigration agents placed an electronic monitoring device on his ankle, according to The Washington Post.
In an Instagram post shared four weeks ago, Bel wrote that he came to the United States “to pursue my education” and said he did not come to the country “to commit a crime or hurt anyone.”
“Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg,” he wrote, describing the experience as one of “shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.”
Bel also questioned how he could continue playing college sports while wearing the device.
His father said the ankle monitor left his son feeling humiliated and affected his ability to play soccer. “He felt like he was treated like an animal,” Bel, 40, recounted in a handwritten statement.
Bel arrived in the United States in 2024 to reunite with his parents, who had fled Haiti three years earlier. He graduated from high school with honors and was a member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps. He dreamed of studying medicine.
Haitian community leaders in Springfield say Bel’s death reflects the stress many immigrants are experiencing as they face possible detention and deportation.
“These policies are what caused his untimely death,” Guerline Jozef of the Haitian Bridge Alliance told The Washington Post.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol is investigating the crash and has not publicly classified Bel’s death as a suicide.
The Black Information Network is your source for Black News! Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.