- Pierre Damas Bel died after entering Interstate 70 traffic in Springfield, Ohio, following distress over an ICE ankle monitor.
- His family said the monitor, installed July twenty ninth, led to bullying, humiliation, and worsening mental health.
- Advocates want an end to electronic shackling as ICE and Ohio investigators continue reviewing the death.
The family of 20-year-old Pierre Damas Bel says despair over an ICE ankle monitor preceded his death after he entered traffic on Interstate 70 in Springfield, Ohio, on Monday.
Bel’s father said his son had been bullied at school and felt humiliated in public because of the device. The Ohio State Highway Patrol said Bel parked on the highway’s right shoulder, exited his vehicle and entered the westbound lanes in Clark County.
He died at the scene. The investigation remains open.
Bel’s family has linked the death to the pressure that followed the monitor’s July 29 installation, while officials have not reached a public conclusion about what caused him to enter traffic.
In an Instagram post, Bel described the shame he felt while continuing his immigration case.
“Yet now I'm walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience.”
His father, Pierre Ronal Bel, said the device changed how his son saw himself.
“After my son was outfitted with the ankle monitor, he felt like he was treated like an animal.”
Bel had arrived in the United States in 2024 and lived in Springfield, a city where about 12,000 Haitians reside. ICE placed him in an “alternatives to detention program” while his immigration proceedings continued.
The timing followed the end of Haiti’s Temporary Protected Status. More than 300,000 Haitians lost that protection in late July after the Supreme Court in June cleared the way for the Trump administration to end the program.
The monitor followed the end of Haiti’s protected immigration status
The policy shift affected Bel’s plans at school. His family said the loss of protection left him disqualified from college soccer and ROTC-related activities.
Bel had just graduated from high school. He played varsity soccer, held a lieutenant rank in Junior ROTC and planned to attend Wright State University in Ohio.
His father said the device made him stand apart from classmates. Bel was a cadet in Marine Corps Junior ROTC, according to an account of his school life, but classmates taunted him over the monitor.
Pierre Ronal Bel said uniforms were distributed to other JROTC students while his son was excluded because of the device.
“Dad I felt humiliated,”
Bel’s father said his son also traveled to Cincinnati and Westerville to ask officers to remove the device because he played soccer and felt embarrassed.
“He took two trips to Cincinnati and Westerville to plead with the officers to remove the bracelet, since he's a soccer player, and he felt embarrassed and humiliated.”
The family described isolation as well as teasing. Bel’s immigration status had collided with the activities that shaped his daily life and his plans for college.
His father received a warning call before police arrived
On Monday morning, Bel called his father from his car on Interstate 70. He said bullying over the device had left him distressed.
“Dad, I'm not feeling OK. I'm not thinking right.”
His father urged him to return home.
“I told him, ‘Come, come home so that we can talk,’”
The highway patrol said Bel had stopped on the right shoulder before entering westbound traffic. Around 11 a.m., police came to his father’s home and reported that Bel had thrown himself under a truck.
“Around 11 o'clock, police showed up at my door to report that my son had thrown himself under a truck.”
The Ohio State Highway Patrol continues to investigate the circumstances surrounding the death. The family’s account connects the monitor, school bullying and worsening mental health, but the patrol’s investigation remains the official inquiry into the highway incident.
ICE rejects blame as the highway investigation continues
ICE said Bel received the device on July 29 while his immigration proceedings continued. The Department of Homeland Security and ICE said the agency would not draw conclusions about the death before investigators finish their work.
“ICE does not comment on the cause of death while that investigation is pending, and we will not speculate about unverified claims regarding other individuals.”
The agency also rejected the family’s effort to assign responsibility to ICE.
“No one is required to stay in the United States illegally and wear a GPS monitor,”
ICE said people could self-deport through the CBP Home app. Eligible participants, the agency said, receive a government-arranged flight home and a $3,000 check.
The response came as local advocates and Bel’s family pressed officials to examine how electronic monitoring affected his school life and mental health.
Ohio advocates demand an end to electronic shackling
Pastor Carl Ruby of Central Christian Church called on Republican lawmakers to end the monitoring practice. He described Bel as a gifted young person whose death should prompt a broader policy review.
“Pierre was a beautiful young man, smart, kind,”
Ruby, who also spoke for Springfield G92, said, “It was immigration policy that took his life.” He called electronic monitoring a form of shackling and urged lawmakers to act.
“The shackling program has to end and that is just the start of moving towards a more just immigration policy.”
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called Bel’s death a “horrible tragedy.”
Guerline Jozef, co-founder of Haitian Bridge Alliance, said the case reflected the fear created by the administration’s treatment of Haitian immigrants.
“This is one of the most feared and tragic outcomes of the Trump administration's cruel and inhumane attacks on the Haitian community.”
Jozef also said officials who supported ending the protection for Haitians should bear responsibility for the death, citing what she called the extreme conditions in Haiti.
Bel’s death has drawn attention in Springfield, where Haitian residents have faced the effects of the immigration policy change. His family and local advocates say the consequences reached beyond legal status, affecting his education, uniform distribution and participation in soccer and ROTC.
The Haitian Support Network is planning a memorial next week. Advocates are also planning memorials, vigils and prayer walks in Springfield, Columbus and Dayton, keeping the focus on a young graduate whose family says immigration enforcement turned daily life into a source of shame.
