Pierre Damas Bel, 20, died near Springfield, Ohio, after he lost Temporary Protected Status and was outfitted with an ankle monitor.
What’s next for Haitians after TPS ends?
TPS wasn’t designed to last forever. For many Haitians who built lives in the U.S., that reality is suddenly hitting home.
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called the death of a Haitian college student fitted with an ankle monitor a “horrible, horrible tragedy.”
Pierre Damas Bel, 20, died near Springfield, Ohio, after he lost Temporary Protected Status and was outfitted with an ankle monitor. The Springfield News Sun reported Bel died by suicide after “being teased by fellow students at Wright State (University) about his ankle monitor.”
In August, Springfield’s Haitian residents received letters to report to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Cincinnati.
DeWine said Bel “had great dreams about what he could do in this country and what he could contribute to this country.”
“I think we have to ask ourselves: is this really good? Is it what we want done to people like this being picked up and facing deportation? Do we want that being done in our name?”
DeWine reiterated his opposition to the mass deportation of Haitian immigrants from Ohio, calling the approach of President Donald Trump’s administration “very misguided and wrong.” He said rescinding TPS from Haitians in Springfield was a mistake, both economically and practically.
“It’s also important for us as a people to think about: do we want this being done, this mass deportation, in our name?” DeWine asked. “I don’t think that’s what most Americans support.”
The Bel family is expected to speak out about his death at a 3 p.m. ET event in Springfield on Sept. 1.
“The government treated my son like an animal,” his father said in a written statement.
State government reporter Jessie Balmert can be reached at jbalmert@usatodayco.com or @jbalmert on X.