New Ruling Calls Death of Haitian Woman in ICE Custody a Homicide

For days, Daphy Michel sat alone at a Pittsburgh bus shelter as winter temperatures lingered around her. The 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker had recently been released from federal immigration custody, according to NBC News. She suffered from severe mental illness, spoke limited English and, according to her family’s attorney, was dressed for a different season.

By the time help arrived, Michel was dead, we previously reported.

Now, more than three months later, the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office has ruled her death a homicide, determining that hypothermia was the cause and that her death resulted from the actions — or inaction — of another person, The Guardian reported. Officials emphasized, however, that the ruling does not assign criminal guilt.

The confirmed cause of death has intensified scrutiny of the circumstances surrounding Michel’s release from ICE custody and prompted renewed questions about how vulnerable migrants with mental health challenges are treated after leaving detention.

Michel arrived at the U.S. southern border in 2022 seeking asylum after leaving Haiti. According to her attorney, Joseph Patrick Murphy, she was later granted humanitarian parole because of urgent humanitarian concerns and was awaiting an immigration hearing when her life unraveled, The Guardian reported.

Things took a turn last year, however, when Michel was arrested after what her attorney described as erratic behavior linked to untreated mental illness. She spent months in a western Pennsylvania jail undergoing evaluations, according to the outlet. When a court ruled she could not be held for trial, ICE agents took her into custody, fitted her with an ankle monitor and transported her to Pittsburgh. She was released on Feb. 27.

Medical examiners later described Michel as a vulnerable adult facing severe mental health challenges and a significant language barrier. Four days after her release, she was found dead at the bus shelter.

“She was in September clothes and it was February, and the weather overwhelmed her and she went into hypothermia,” her attorney said, adding that the homicide ruling reflects what he believes was a fatal chain of neglect rather than a single criminal act. Michel’s family intends to pursue legal action against ICE, Murphy also said.

The findings also come after a new federal policy officially ended the Biden-era requirement that officials track and report deaths occurring within 30 days of a detainee’s release from custody

Federal officials strongly dispute responsibility related to Michel’s death. According to The Guardian, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said Michel had her belongings, a charged cellphone and access to public transportation when she was released, adding that ICE “had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death.”