Hypothermia death following ICE release ruled as homicide
FILE-An ICE agent monitors hundreds of asylum seekers being processed upon entering the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building on June 6, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by David Dee Delgado/Getty Images)
The death of a Haitian woman seeking asylum after her release from federal custody was ruled a homicide by a medical examiner.
Daphy Michel died on March 2. The 31-year-old woman was found at a bus shelter in Pittsburgh, with the Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office sharing in their report on June 12 that her cause of death to be hypothermia and ruled a homicide.
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The medical examiner's office told the AP that Michel was a vulnerable adult "suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier" at the time of her release on Feb. 27.
A lawyer representing her family told The Associated Press that he expects her family members to sue Immigration and Customs Enforcement in connection with her death.
Her family’s attorney also shared with the AP that Michel, a native of Haiti, was seeking asylum in the U.S. after arriving at the southern border in 2022.
The attorney added that Michel was granted humanitarian parole due to an important humanitarian need, but she did not live to see a hearing scheduled for two weeks after she passed away.
What happened in the Daphy Michel incident?
Dig deeper:
In 2025, Daphy Michel was arrested for yelling at imaginary people because of her psychiatric challenges, her family’s attorney told The Associated Press.
Michel spent six months in a Washington County Jail, where she underwent multiple psychiatric evaluations as she awaited her first hearing.
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The lawyer explained to the AP that a magistrate stated that he could not hold Michel for trial for threatening imaginary people.
ICE later arrested her in her cell, put an ankle monitor on her and took her 25 miles away to Pittsburgh, where she sat at a bus shelter for days in winter.
Dept. of Homeland Security statement on Daphy Michel
What they're saying:
The Associated Press received an email from Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis where she said, "ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her."
Bis called Michel "an illegal alien from Haiti" who was placed in removal proceedings after her arrest.
The email continued with Bis writing that Michel had all her belongings and a fully charged phone when she was released, with public transportation available.
Bis shared with the AP that ICE found out the day after Michel died that her ankle monitor "had been tampered with," but county medical examiner staff "refused to cooperate or even talk with" ICE officials.
Bis concluded by telling the AP that ICE contacted the U.S. Marshals Service, who recovered the ankle monitor but were refused information about Michel's condition. She claimed that ICE learned of her death through news media.
The Source: Information for this story was provided by The Associated Press, which received comments from an attorney for Daphy Michel’s family and an email from a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson. This story was reported from Washington, D.C.