A 20-year-old Haitian immigrant and recent honors high school graduate died in Springfield, Ohio, on Monday, August 31, in what his family and advocates believe was a suicide following the loss of his legal immigration status.
The Ohio State Highway Patrol says Pierre Damas Bel pulled his car to the shoulder of Interstate 70 and entered oncoming traffic, where he was struck and killed. State troopers have said they are still investigating and have not released an official determination on the death.
Bel had started classes at Wright State University just eight days earlier, enrolling on August 24 to study physiology and neuroscience with plans to pursue medical school.
Bel’s death came shortly after he lost his Temporary Protected Status (TPS), a federal designation granted by the U.S. government to individuals from nations experiencing catastrophic conditions such as ongoing armed conflict, environmental disasters, or extraordinary temporary conditions.
TPS allows beneficiaries to temporarily live and work legally in the United States without the immediate threat of deportation. Following a June Supreme Court ruling that cleared the way for the current administration to end TPS protections for Haitians, individuals like Bel were required to report to immigration officials and were fitted with mandatory GPS ankle monitors.
Family members and advocates say the psychological toll of losing his status and being required to wear the monitor was devastating for the young student, who had also been bullied by fellow students at Wright State over the device.
“He would wear long pants or jeans whenever he went out so people wouldn’t make fun of him or look at him differently,” his father, Pierre Ronal Bel, shared in a statement. “He felt like he was treated like an animal. In his last days, I did not recognize him, as he was such an energetic kid who loves life, friends, and family, and education.”
His father said Bel called him on video around 8 a.m. that morning, saying he wasn’t feeling okay mentally because of the bullying; his father told him to come home so they could talk. Police arrived at the family’s door around 11 a.m. to report his death.
Before his death, Bel had posted about his distress on social media, writing, “I came to this country to pursue my education. I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone. 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.”
Established by Congress under the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS is a humanitarian program administered by the Department of Homeland Security that provides temporary relief from deportation and grants work authorization to foreign nationals who cannot safely return to their home country due to severe crises.
Beneficiaries must meet continuous residence requirements and pass background checks, and the status does not automatically lead to a green card or citizenship. Haiti was originally designated for TPS following the catastrophic 2010 earthquake and the political and social instability that followed. Bel had arrived in the U.S. in 2024 to reunite with his parents, who had fled Haiti’s gang violence.
Advocacy groups, including the Haitian Bridge Alliance, and local leaders in Springfield, home to an estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants, have voiced immense grief and outrage over Bel’s death, and community members have gathered to support the Bel family while calling attention to the mental health toll immigration enforcement is taking on immigrant communities.
Springfield Pastor Carl Ruby, who has been with the family in the days since, called the death a “horrible tragedy” that never should have happened. Counseling and support services have been made available for students at Wright State University and community members affected by the tragedy.
