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Wearing an ankle monitor is painful. They’re physically heavy and often fitted tightly, restricting movement. They affect one’s ability to sleep, and are incredibly sensitive; certain movements can set them off. Since June, many Haitian Temporary Protected Status (TPS) holders have received letters advising them to report to local ICE offices, where they are fitted with ankle monitors. It’s marketed as an alternative to detention, but does not lessen feelings of shame or fear.
On Monday morning, Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old TPS recipient living in Springfield, Ohio, walked into highway traffic and was struck and killed by a truck. He had been fitted with an ankle monitor in July, which his family cites as being the source of his depression and subsequent suicide. Bel had just started taking courses at Wright State University in Fairborn, about 15 miles away from Springfield, after graduating high school with honors. He was an avid soccer player and member of the Junior Reserve Officer Training Corps (JROTC) program.
After receiving an ankle monitor, Bel could no longer play soccer without it beeping. He couldn’t be fitted for an ROTC uniform like his peers. At school, he was bullied and called a criminal. According to his father, Bel took two trips back to the ICE offices in Cincinnati and Westville to “plead to the officers to remove the bracelet.”
The Prospect spoke to Guerline Jozef, the co-founder and executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance (HBA), who has been supporting the Bel family. As she waited for them to call her after viewing Bel’s body in the morgue, Jozef said “that ankle monitor is what killed him.”
Right after local police notified Bel’s family of his death, they were told they needed to pay them to tow Bel’s car. Jozef wired them the funds. “He died by suicide, but the system, the Trump administration’s removing of TPS [temporary protected status], the Supreme Court’s siding to push for the removal of TPS is what killed him,” said Jozef.
Bel’s death has underscored the uncertainty, chaos, and violence brought on by ICE’s violent detention campaign in Springfield, which the Supreme Court enabled over two months ago. After some initial hesitation by ICE, the city, which has a significant number of Haitian immigrants, is now being systematically cleared out, with a fresh wave of violent detentions becoming the new normal over the past few weeks. Residents like Bel are collateral damage in this crackdown and President Trump’s demands for what amounts to racial purity.
When the Supreme Court ruled on Mullin v. Doe in June, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) was given the go-ahead to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, along with nationals from other countries that held TPS designations, such as South Sudan and Syria. Created under the Immigration Act of 1990, TPS was designed to provide nationals from countries facing pronounced instability (such as armed conflict or environmental disaster) with asylum in the U.S. Recipients are allowed to obtain work authorization and live in the country.
TPS does not provide individuals with a path toward citizenship or permanent residency status like a green card. Every year, recipients must re-register.
Although DHS under Trump has terminated TPS designations for over ten countries so far, it doesn’t mean that they are safe to return to. Haiti currently has a “Level 4” travel advisory, with the State Department urging U.S. citizens to “not travel to Haiti for any reason.” For years, armed gangs have controlled areas of the country, particularly the capital of Port-au-Prince, using violence to terrorize communities. Political instability, natural disasters, and poverty have created a humanitarian crisis like no other.
Jozef reflected on the story of a young woman who came to the U.S. and received a TPS designation, which shows the impact of this reality. “For the first time in her life, she felt safe,” Jozef said. “She told me that before she got here, every day she woke up, she was afraid to go out because she thinks that could be the day she could be kidnapped. She shared with me that on that day, when TPS was completely removed, was the first time in the U.S. those same feelings came back to her.”
Around 15,000 Haitians live in Springfield, and have a mixture of legal statuses. Since the 2024 election, the city has been at the center of conversations about the nation’s immigration system, but only now, with the ending of Haitian TPS, has ICE been allowed to commence raids. Dozens have been detained, often with excessive force, including two pastors who were active in local churches. Videos chronicled by bystanders have shown ICE agents accosting people at gas stations, outside of grocery stores, and after traffic stops.
According to Lynn Tramonte, executive director of the Ohio Immigrant Alliance (OIA), Springfield police have allowed ICE to use the public safety building’s parking lot as their “home base.” Reporting from the Springfield News-Sun and the Dayton Daily News detailed ICE vehicles entering and exiting, along with several reports of agents aggressively detaining people across the city.
Mayor Rob Rue has stated that “the city does not direct or control ICE enforcement activity.” Although the police do not have a 287(g) agreement with ICE (which deputizes local police to act as federal immigration agents), the chief of police issued a statement late last month in response to officers being spotted near ICE, maintaining that they do not work together.
Tramonte emphasized local outcry that the Ohio and Springfield governments have not done enough to protect Haitian community members. “Springfield has been left completely on its own,” says Tramonte. “The federal government has come and the city, county, state government have just completely let them. They’ve given them the keys to Springfield.”
It was not until recently that Rue called for Congress to reform federal immigration law.
In June, just before the Supreme Court ruled on Mullin, Senate Bill 4814, sponsored by Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA), was introduced that would extend TPS for Haiti until 2029, allowing for recipients to stay in the U.S. A version of this bill passed the Republican-led House in April after Rep. Ayanna Pressley (D-MA) forced it onto the floor. Other legislation, such as the American Dream and Promise Act, would create a path toward permanent residency and U.S. citizenship for TPS holders.
Research has shown that Haitian TPS holders contribute not just to the U.S. economy, but also to the communities in which they live. At city commission meetings in Springfield, residents have spoken out against ICE arrests, and have organized to receive “rapid response” training.
“I think the reminder from people’s reaction is that they understand that their Haitian neighbors belong and that they’re willing to stand up and to speak out,” says Nana Gyamfi, the executive director of the Black Alliance for Just Immigration. “There just needs to be a lot more of that, not just for Haitians specifically, but for Black immigrants more generally.”
