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20-Year-Old Haitian Immigrant Dies by Suicide After Being Outfitted with an Ankle Monitor

HeadlineSep 02, 2026

In Springfield, Ohio, family members say 20-year-old Haitian immigrant Pierre Damas Bel died by suicide after the Trump administration canceled protections for Haitian refugees and outfitted him with an ankle monitor. Bel was struck by a tractor-trailer Monday morning on Interstate 70 after he reportedly parked on the shoulder and stepped into oncoming traffic. Bel had just begun his freshman year at Wright State University, where he was recruited to play soccer. He had hoped to study neuroscience on his way to becoming a neurosurgeon. Pierre Damas Bel had a pending asylum claim, with his next hearing in asylum court scheduled for October. His death came after he expressed feeling “shame and humiliation” at being forced by ICE to wear a GPS ankle monitor.

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