‘They Put An Ankle Monitor On Him And Everything Changed’: Haitian Student’s Death Tied By Family To ICE, End Of TPS

Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian college student who had been building a promising future in Ohio, died by suicide on Monday after his family said he struggled emotionally with an ankle monitor issued by U.S. immigration officials.

His immigration status changed before his death

His death comes weeks after the Trump administration ended Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in July, leaving hundreds of thousands of people at risk of losing the legal protection that allowed them to live and work in the United States.

On Monday morning, Bel called his father while sitting in his car along Interstate 70. He told him he was struggling mentally and emotionally and was being bullied over the ankle monitor, his father said, according to The New York Times and NBC News .

"I told him to come home so we can talk," Pierre Ronal Bel told NBC News. "Around 11 the police showed at my door to report that my son threw himself under a truck."

The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Bel stepped into oncoming traffic and was struck by a truck. His family and local immigration advocates have connected his death to the shame and humiliation he experienced after being required to wear the device.

"Everything was fine with him before this happened," his father told The New York Times. "They put an ankle monitor on him and everything changed."

Bel had been building a future in Ohio

Bel arrived in the U.S. in 2024 and settled in Springfield with his family. He quickly established himself as a standout student and athlete, earning a place in the National Honor Society, serving as a lieutenant in his high school's Marine Corps J.R.O.T.C. program and becoming co-captain of the soccer team.

He was initially recruited to play for Wittenberg University's men's soccer team, but later became ineligible after losing his TPS. Bel later started his first semester at Wright State University on a scholarship and hoped to study neuroscience and eventually attend medical school, per NBC News.

Friends remembered him as someone eager to help others. His former soccer teammate Miles Dooley recalled Bel winning a 5K race that raised money for a local food bank.

"He was so thrilled when he crossed that finish line," Dooley said, per The New York Times.

Bel also wrote publicly about his experience with the ankle monitor. In a social media post, he said he came to the country to pursue his education, not "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, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience," he wrote .

ICE placed Bel in its "alternatives to detention program" in July while his immigration proceedings continued. The agency has said ankle monitors allow officials to track immigrants who are not detained while they comply with immigration requirements.

His death is raising concerns about immigration enforcement

Local advocates say Bel's death reflects the broader fear and uncertainty facing Springfield's Haitian community since the loss of TPS. Viles Dorsainvil, co-founder of the Haitian Support Center, said Bel's family was among hundreds seeking legal guidance.

"I know many folks are depressed right now," Dorsainvil said in a statement obtained by NBC News. "I never had in my mind that it would have gotten to that point."

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, called Bel's death a "horrible tragedy" and questioned whether the immigration policies affecting Haitians are necessary.

"Do we want that being done in our name?" DeWine said.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol investigation remains ongoing.

The post 'They Put An Ankle Monitor On Him And Everything Changed': Haitian Student's Death Tied By Family To ICE, End Of TPS appeared first on Blavity .