On the night of February 26, 2026, the Michel family in Pennsylvania anticipated the release of their loved one, Daphy Michel, who had spent six months in jail. A judge had dismissed criminal charges against her, and her brother was told she would be released soon, probably the next day. Despite concerns about her severe mental illness, he was assured someone would contact him to pick her up.

However, the next communication he received was from a Pittsburgh hospital informing him that 31-year-old Daphy Michel had died. Maintenance workers found her at a bus shelter on Pittsburgh’s South Side, more than 20 miles away from her home, dressed in summer clothes despite 20°F weather.

Michel had come from Haiti to the United States in 2022 seeking a safer life. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) acknowledged that ICE processed Michel and placed her in removal proceedings immediately after her release from Washington County jail, even though she had an upcoming hearing in her asylum case.

Adrianna Torres-García, deputy director of the Free Migration Project, stated that releasing immigrants far from home is not standard practice under past or current US administrations. Haddy Gassama, senior policy counsel at the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), noted that ICE releasing people far from their homes, sometimes without belongings or medication, “happens enough that people have started to flag it.”

Michel’s death has drawn attention to the treatment of immigrants with mental illness and the protocols followed by ICE upon release.

Sources