Daphy Michel Died After ICE Released Her Alone in Pittsburgh
You are released from jail after six months. Criminal charges dropped. Your family is waiting for a call so they can pick you up. That call never comes — and three days later, you are found frozen at a bus stop, alone in a city you don't know. That is what happened to Daphy Michel, 31, a Haitian immigrant in Pennsylvania who had an asylum hearing scheduled and a family who loved her. In June 2026, the county medical examiner ruled her death a homicide.
Daphy Michel came to the United States from Haiti in 2022, settling in Charleroi, Pennsylvania — a community with a significant Haitian population. In September 2025, she was arrested on misdemeanor charges after a neighbor witnessed what appeared to be a mental health crisis. She spent six months in jail. In late February 2026, a district judge dismissed all charges against her. Her brother was told she would be released soon and that someone would call him so he could pick her up. That call never came.
What ICE Did — and What Happened Next
Right after Michel was released from Washington County Jail, ICE officers arrested her, placed her in removal proceedings, and then released her — alone — in Pittsburgh, more than 20 miles from her home in Charleroi. The Department of Homeland Security said in a June statement on X that ICE had released her "with all of her belongings, including a fully charged phone, in sunny weather in the middle of Pittsburgh, where public transport is readily available." Joseph Murphy, the immigration and civil rights attorney representing the Michel family, disputes that. He says her phone plan had lapsed while she was in jail, that she did not speak English, that she was illiterate, and that her severe mental illness was "obvious." He called ICE's decision to leave her alone a "very bad judgment call." Camera footage from Pittsburgh Regional Transit shows Michel did not move from a bus stop on the city's South Side for more than 24 hours. On the morning of March 2, maintenance workers found her there, unresponsive, in 20°F (-6.6°C) weather, dressed in summer clothes. She died at a Pittsburgh hospital. She was 31. She never made it to her asylum hearing.
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The Allegheny County medical examiner ruled her death a homicide in June 2026, describing her as a "vulnerable adult" suffering from "untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier." Allegheny County detectives began investigating last month. The Michel family's attorney announced in late July that a lawsuit would be filed "very soon." Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the ACLU, said ICE is supposed to use discretion when deciding where to release someone — taking into account weather, physical and mental health, and whether dropping a person far from home creates danger. "This really raises a question around ICE's own internal practices and the need for stricter guidelines," Gassama said. Adrianna Torres-García, deputy director of the Free Migration Project in Philadelphia, said this pattern is not new: "Once people leave the detention center or jail where they were held, it's as if it's no longer ICE's responsibility."
Michel's case is unfolding against a broader backdrop of pressure on Haitian immigrants across the US. In June 2026, the Supreme Court ruled that the Trump administration has the right to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) — a form of humanitarian protection — for hundreds of thousands of Haitians living in the US. Pennsylvania is home to roughly 27,000 Haitian immigrants. Community members in Charleroi and Pittsburgh have organized vigils and fundraisers. Many say they do not want Michel's case to be forgotten.
What to Do If You or Someone You Know Is Released from ICE Detention
- Contact an immigration attorney or a local legal aid organization before or immediately after release from ICE custody — especially if you have a pending asylum case or a scheduled immigration court hearing.
- If you have a mental health condition or a language barrier, ask your attorney or a community organization to document this in writing and notify ICE before release. Organizations like the Free Migration Project (Philadelphia) or the Pennsylvania Immigration Coalition may be able to help coordinate a safe release plan.
- If ICE releases you far from home without transportation or a working phone, call a local immigrant rights hotline immediately. Many rapid-response organizations can arrange pickup or connect you with emergency support.
- If you believe ICE violated your rights during detention or release — including failing to account for a medical or mental health condition — document everything and speak with an immigration attorney about filing a complaint or civil lawsuit.
What to do, step by step — see our guide “Your Rights During an ICE Encounter”.
Fishkin Law Firm, Нью-Йорк
Michel's case illustrates a critical gap: ICE has discretion over where and how it releases detainees, and that discretion must account for vulnerability — mental illness, language barriers, weather, and distance from home. If a family member is in ICE custody and has a documented mental health condition, an attorney can file an emergency motion requesting that ICE coordinate release directly with the family or a designated organization. Anyone placed in removal proceedings while an asylum case is pending should immediately notify their immigration attorney, because that hearing date may still be legally protected. Please consult an immigration attorney before any ICE encounter if at all possible.