Haitian college student in Ohio dies by apparent suicide after losing TPS status, family says

Haitian‑born College Student Dies in Ohio Crash, Family Believes It Was Suicide

PIERRE DAMAS BEL, a 20‑year‑old college student from Springfield, Ohio, died after walking into oncoming traffic on Interstate 70 on Monday, officials said. The incident, which occurred while the student had parked his vehicle on the right shoulder, was declared a fatal injury by the Ohio State Highway Patrol and remains under investigation.

Bel, who was born in Haiti, had recently lost his temporary protected status (TPS) after the U.S. Supreme Court cleared the way for the Trump administration to end Haiti’s TPS designation. The move could expose roughly 350,000 Haitian nationals in the United States to deportation, according to immigration experts.

A Troubled Morning

Bel’s father, Pierre Ronal Bel, told The Haitian Times that his son had been “distraught” after weeks of wearing an ankle monitor issued by the Department of Homeland Security. “He was treated like an animal,” the father recounted, citing a report from local news outlet WSYX. The ankle monitor, a GPS‑tracking device, was part of the enforcement policy following the Supreme Court decision.

Earlier on Monday, the 20‑year‑old called his father and said he was not feeling okay mentally. “I told him, ‘Come home so that we can talk?’ I had my youngest to take to school. I took him to school,” the father said in a statement read by pastor Carl Ruby. Police arrived at the family home later that morning to inform him of his son’s death.

College Life and Ankle Monitor

Bel had graduated from high school in May and was set to begin his first semester at Wright State University. He had previously played college soccer at Wittenberg University but was denied participation because of the ankle monitor, the Wittenberg men’s soccer team said in a Facebook post. He had also been a junior ROTC member and had expressed disappointment at being singled out for the device. “Since they gave uniforms to all my classmates at JROTC, but except me because of the bracelet,” he told his father on August 28, the day before his death.

Bel’s own social‑media posts a month earlier revealed his frustration: “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. I came here to study, to build my future and to live a better life, not to be treated like a criminal. So now, how am I supposed to play college sports with a GPS monitor on my leg?”

Reactions

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, a Republican, said Tuesday that Bel’s death was a “horrible, horrible tragedy.” “He graduated from high school here. He was well liked. He was in the junior ROTC. And, I’m told by those that knew him that he had great dreams about what he could do in this country and what he could contribute to this country,” DeWine told reporters. “I think we have to ask ourselves: Is this really good? Is it what we want done to people like this being picked up and facing deportation? Do we want that being done in our name,” he added.

Pastor Carl Ruby, who spoke with the family, posted on Facebook: “I’m sitting with a family right now whose son threw himself in front of a semi truck today after being teased by fellow students at Wright State about his ankle monitor. I wish President Trump could hear the mom’s wails. The family wants people to know that this was a suicide and they want people to know that President Trump, White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s inhumane immigration policies made this happen.”

ICE issued a statement to WBTN saying it “does not comment on the cause of death while that investigation is pending, and we will not speculate about unverified claims regarding other individuals.”

University’s Response

Wright State University President Sue Edwards described the loss as devastating. “Pierre was an active honors student who was passionate about soccer and was already actively engaged in his classes and the campus community. The University mourns the death of Pierre and extends our deepest condolences to his family, friends and loved ones during this unimaginably difficult time,” Edwards said in a statement.

Broader Context

Around 15,000 Haitian immigrants live in Springfield, many of whom have been in the U.S. for years and are unable to return home, where the country has suffered years of violence, turmoil and extreme poverty. The Supreme Court ruling that allowed the Trump administration to end Haiti’s TPS designation has heightened anxiety among these residents, as it could lead to the removal of hundreds of thousands of Haitian nationals.

The Ohio State Highway Patrol confirmed that the incident occurred at the intersection of I‑70 and the right‑hand shoulder, where Bel had parked his car. The patrol’s statement said Bel “succumbed to fatal injuries at the scene” and that the incident remains under investigation.

As the investigation continues, the family and community grapple with the loss of a young man whose life had been shaped by hopes for education, athletics, and a future in the United States.