The family of Daphy Michel is preparing to sue the U.S. government and other entities after a medical examiner ruled the death of the 31-year-old Haitian asylum seeker a homicide. Their attorney, Joseph Patrick Murphy, said in early August that the lawsuit was expected to be filed within two to three weeks.
According to several media outlets, Ms. Michel spent six months in jail on misdemeanor charges that were ultimately dismissed. She was then immediately taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
Transported more than 20 miles from her community and released alone in Pittsburgh despite mental-health challenges and language barriers. She subsequently spent at least a day at a bus shelter in subfreezing temperatures and died of hypothermia.
Though the homicide classification does not establish criminal responsibility, Ms. Michel’s family and immigration advocates have raised questions about whether the actions of government authorities contributed to a death that could have been prevented.
The Haitian Bridge Alliance, an organization focused on issues related to Black immigrants, released a statement in March urging Congress, the Department of Justice and independent watchdog bodies to investigate Ms. Michel’s death and the role of ICE supervision programs, review detention conditions and medical care in ICE facilities and increase transparency and reporting regarding deaths in immigration custody.
“Too many immigrants—including Haitian nationals—have died in the custody or supervision of federal immigration authorities,” Guerline Jozef, the organization’s executive director, said in the statement.
“We are calling for a transparent, independent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Daphy Michel’s death. Migrants seeking protection should never face neglect, abandonment, or preventable harm while under government supervision.”
U.S. Rep. Summer Lee (D-PA) released a statement in June following the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s homicide designation.
“Daphy Michel was a human being. She happened to be born on the other side of a border, but she was no less worthy of care, safety, and dignity. That should not have been a death sentence.
Daphy’s death was preventable and is the result of a violent system that cages people, surveils them, abandons them, dehumanizes them in life, and smears them in death to escape accountability. She deserved care, shelter, language access, and medical support,” Rep. Lee said.
“ICE and every agency that failed her must answer for this. And now, as more people die in and around ICE custody, their answer is not transparency, accountability, or care, but to stop reporting the deaths of recently released detainees altogether,” she added. “We must abolish ICE and build systems rooted in equity and basic human dignity.”
In early June, about three months after Ms. Michel’s death, acting ICE director David Venturella rescinded a 2021 Biden-era policy requiring ICE to report and investigate deaths occurring within 30 days of a detainee’s release.
Ms. Michel was born in Aquin, Haiti, and entered the U.S. in 2022. According to Atty. Murphy, she was granted humanitarian parole and had a pending asylum case, The Associated Press reported. She lived in Charleroi, Pennsylvania, more than 20 miles south of Pittsburgh.
Ms. Michel was arrested in September 2025 following what witnesses described as a mental-health crisis. She faced misdemeanor charges related to allegedly threatening people while experiencing psychiatric problems.
Atty. Murphy shared that she spent six months in Washington County Jail while awaiting a preliminary hearing and underwent multiple psychiatric evaluations, according to the AP. In late February, a judge dismissed the criminal charges.
Rather than returning home after the charges were dismissed, Ms. Michel was taken into ICE custody. ICE officials placed an electronic ankle monitor on her and transported her to Pittsburgh. Her family reportedly expected to be contacted upon her release to arrange for someone to pick her up, but that call never came.
Instead, she ended up at a Pittsburgh bus shelter, where surveillance footage from Pittsburgh Regional Transit, obtained by Pittsburgh’s Public Source, a local news outlet, showed her spending at least 24 hours in largely subfreezing temperatures. She was found unresponsive on March 2 and later pronounced dead at a hospital.
Her family and their attorney said she was wearing clothing appropriate for September and was inadequately dressed for winter weather. Temperatures were in the low 20s on the morning of March 2.
The Allegheny County Medical Examiner described Ms. Michel as a vulnerable adult with untreated severe mental-health problems and a significant language barrier when she was released. The medical examiner’s office determined her cause of death was hypothermia and classified the manner of death as homicide, meaning her death was caused by the actions of another individual.
On social media, immigration advocates accused ICE of contributing to Ms. Michel’s death. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) responded in a post on X: “ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her.”
The DHS stated that Ms. Michel was released on Feb. 27 “with all of her belongings, including a fully charged phone, in sunny weather in the middle of Pittsburgh, where public transport is readily available.”
The family attorney disputes elements of the government’s account, noting that although Ms. Michel had a cellphone, its service expired during the six months she was incarcerated.
Ms. Michel leaves behind her parents, three sisters and two brothers. She died before she could attend her immigration hearing, which had been scheduled two weeks after her death.
In addition to the family’s lawsuit, Pittsburgh detectives are investigating Ms. Michel’s death.
