SPRINGFIELD, OH – Ankle monitors are designed to humiliate Springfield Haitians, their advocates have argued since they lost protected status in the U.S. immigration system in July.
This week, that humiliation drove a Springfield man to his death, according to family members and supporters, who said he threw himself under a moving truck after facing bullying over the ankle monitor that he was forced to wear.
Pierre Damas Bel, 20, died around 8:45 a.m. Aug. 31 on Interstate 70 in Clark County, the Ohio State Highway Patrol said in a press release.
Bel left his Toyota on the right shoulder of the interstate and entered its westbound lanes, the highway patrol said in its press release. He was struck by a semi-trailer truck and died at the scene, the release said.
On Sept. 1, friends, family and supporters again publicly called on federal authorities to stop using ankle monitors on Springfield's Haitian residents.
"Pierre died as a result of policy," said Carl Ruby, pastor of a Springfield church and a leading advocate for the 12,000 to 15,000 Haitians residing in Clark County. "It's our immigration policy that took his life."
Soccer player, JROTC member and college student
Bel came to Columbus from Haiti in 2023. His family moved to Springfield the next year so he could play high school soccer.
The oldest of three sons, Bel began studies at Wright State University in August, planning to major in neuroscience. He worked at a Texas Roadhouse restaurant and was active in the Junior Reserve Officer's Training Corps, a leadership development program sponsored by the U.S. armed forces, supporters said during a Sept. 1 press conference.
Forced to wear an ankle bracelet after a July 29 check-in meeting with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Bel grew despondent, they said.
That was especially the case when gathered with other JROTC students, he told his father last week.
"Dad I felt humiliated," Pierre Ronal Bel said in a statement read to media, "since they gave uniforms to all my classmates at JROTC except me because of the bracelet."
The younger Bel called his father on the morning of his death, saying "I'm not feeling OK. I'm not thinking right because of the bullies." At 11 a.m. "police showed up at my door to report that he threw himself under a truck," the father's statement said.
The elder Bel told a Haitian news outlethe wants proof that his son died by suicide.
“I want to see the video, because I don’t believe he would kill himself like that,” The Haitian Times story said.
But Ruby, the local pastor, said the Bel family wants proof of suicide to highlight the harm of ankle monitors.
Wright State officials called Bel's death a "devastating loss" and offered condolences to family and friends. The university statement did not address bullying and officials did not immediately respond to a request to comment on that allegation.
Advocates continue call to 'Unshackle Springfield'
Last week, advocates for Springfield's Haitian community launched an "Unshackle Springfield" campaign, with 20 religious leaders giving it voice followed by hundreds of allies marching through Springfield's downtown two days later.
They repeated that demand after Bel's death.
"Shut down this program of shackling the community," said Viles Dorsainvil, executive director of the Haitian Support Center. "You don't have to chain the people. You don't have to destroy them."
Supporters called on Ohio's elected leaders to end the ICE program in Springfield, with Ruby appealing to Republicans to take the lead and find "the political courage to say this is not who we are."
Ruby said he was not hopeful that would happen. "I think they will double down."
Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine did, however, reach out after learning of Bel's death to offer condolences. On Sept. 1, he called the incident a "horrible, horrible tragedy."
ICE officials said the Ohio State Highway Patrol notified the agency about Bel's death. "The circumstances of his death remain under investigation by OSHP," ICE said in a statement. "ICE does not comment on the cause of death while that investigation is pending, and we will not speculate about unverified claims regarding other individuals."
The ICE statement also repeated the agency stance that immigrants without legal status in the United States should self-deport.
"No one is required to stay in the United States illegally and wear a monitor," the statement said.
Vigil planned; government takes ankle monitor
A vigil for Bel is planned for 6 p.m., Sept. 2, at Columbus City Hall, 90 W. Broad St.
Funeral services are pending.
Bel's parents will not be able to bury their son in Haiti as they had hoped, Ruby said.
Their request to see the ankle monitor he was wearing at the time of his death was also not granted, he said. The government removed it before they received his body.
Help is available for persons considering suicide. Call or text 988 to connect with the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Support is also available via live chat at 988lifeline.org.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Haitian man forced to wear ankle monitor dies by suicide, family says
