Key facts
- Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker, died of hypothermia on March 2.
- Michel was released from ICE custody on February 27 with an ankle monitor.
- The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office ruled her death a homicide, citing her vulnerability due to mental health issues and a language barrier.
- Her family's attorney plans to sue ICE, stating the death was preventable.
- DHS stated ICE had no involvement in her death and that her ankle monitor was tampered with.
A Haitian asylum seeker's death from hypothermia after her release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody has been ruled a homicide by a medical examiner. Daphy Michel, 31, died on March 2, three days after her release on February 27. The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office determined her cause of death was hypothermia and ruled the manner a homicide, indicating the death resulted from the actions of another individual.
The medical examiner's office stated Michel was a vulnerable adult suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier at the time of her release. Her attorney, Joseph Patrick Murphy, said she was wearing September clothes in February weather when she was released and taken to a bus shelter in Pittsburgh, leading to her succumbing to hypothermia.
Michel, who arrived in the U.S. in 2022 seeking asylum, had spent six months in Washington County Jail undergoing psychiatric evaluations. A magistrate determined she could not be held for trial for threatening imaginary people, after which ICE arrested her, placed an ankle monitor on her, and transported her to Pittsburgh.
Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis stated that ICE had no involvement in Michel's death, asserting she died three days after ICE encountered her. Bis noted that Michel's ankle monitor had been tampered with and that ICE learned of her death through news media after being refused cooperation by county medical examiner staff. She described Michel as an "illegal alien from Haiti" placed in removal proceedings.
Allegheny County Executive Sara Innamorato called Michel's death a tragedy that appeared avoidable with "a little humanity." U.S. Rep. Summer Lee stated the death was preventable and that Michel deserved care, shelter, language access, and medical support. The report also notes that ICE has stopped reporting detainee deaths within 30 days of release, a policy change that health experts say may obscure the true number of deaths occurring after release.