President Trump's campaign visit to Ohio on Oct. 3 will take place a few hours and 25 miles away from a funeral for a college student held up as a victim of the president's policies.
The funeral of a Haitian student who reportedly took his own life over the shame of wearing an ICE-mandated ankle monitor will be held Oct. 3 in Springfield.
While President Donald Trump rallies for Ohio Republicans that evening in the Dayton suburb of Vandalia, family and friends of Pierre Damas Bel will gather at 1 p.m. at St. John's Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, the city northeast of Dayton that is home to as many as 15,000 Haitians.
Organizers expect up to 1,000 people at the funeral.
Bel posts about 'feeling of shame and humiliation'
Bel died Aug. 31, hit by a semitrailer truck on Interstate 70 east
of Springfield.
His family said the 20-year-old Wright State University freshman took his own life by walking in front of the truck.
Writing on Instagram, Bel said he was "carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation" after he left a July 29 check-in meeting at Immigration and Customs Enforcement offices wearing an ankle monitor.
His father, Pierre Ronal Bel, said in an earlier statement that police came to the family's home "to report that my son had thrown himself under a truck."
Bel's death became an instant flashpoint in the continuing debate over the Trump administration's ramp-up of immigration enforcement.
Friends and family said Bel was a victim of those policies, calling on authorities to "unshackle Springfield" in numerous public statements and events.
ICE reiterated its stand that immigrants without legal standing in the United States – including some of the 350,000 Haitians in the United States who lost temporary protected status July 27 – should self-deport.
Bel graduated with honors from Springfield High School
G92, a faith-based organization that supports Haitians, announced Bel's funeral.
In a press release, the group said it expects "as many as 1,000 people to attend, including Pierre’s friends from school and work, local government officials, and members of the Springfield/Dayton area communities."
Prior to attending Wright State, Bel graduated from Springfield High School where he was co-captain of the varsity soccer team, part of the Junior ROTC program and an honors student.
He was working at a local Texas Roadhouse restaurant and set to try out for Wright State's soccer team at the time of his death. He arrived in the United States in 2023 or 2024 and joined his father, mother and two younger brothers in Springfield.
Trump to speak at 7 p.m. at Butler High School
In Vandalia, a Dayton suburb located about 25 miles from Springfield, Trump is scheduled to speak at 7 p.m. Oct. 3.
The event begins at 5:30 p.m. at Butler High School, according to the Republican National Committee.
The president visits Ohio amid heated races between Sen. Jon Husted and former Sen. Sherrod Brown for a U.S. Senate seat, and Republican Vivek Ramaswamy and Democrat Amy Acton for Ohio governor.
This story may be updated.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Trump Ohio visit to coincide with funeral for Haitian college student
