Haitian woman’s hypothermia death after ICE release ruled a homicide

( Hill )

A medical examiner in Pennsylvania ruled Friday that the death of a Haitian woman released from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody was a homicide.

The Allegheny County medical examiner’s office ruled the death of 31-year-old Daphy Michel on March 2 as caused by hypothermia, with homicide as the manner of death. Michel died at 12:14 p.m. EDT at a local hospital that day.

“The opinion of the forensic pathologist in this case is that Ms. Michel was a vulnerable adult, suffering from untreated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier when she was released from federal custody on February 27,” said Jim Madalinsky, the public information officer for the medical examiner’s office and the Allegheny County Police Department.

Madalinsky noted that the homicide ruling “is a standard manner of death determination indicating the death was caused by the actions of another individual” and is “not to be interpreted as a declaration of criminal guilt.”

Lauren Bis, the acting assistant secretary at the Department of Homeland Security, told The Hill that ICE “had NOTHING to do” with Michel’s death. Bis said ICE officers encountered Michel, an immigrant lacking permanent legal status, and placed her in removal proceedings.

“ICE issued her an ICE ankle monitor and she was released from ICE custody on February 27,” Bis added. “She was released with all of her belongings, including a fully charged phone, in sunny weather in the middle of Pittsburgh, where public transport is readily available.”

Bis added that on March 3, ICE received a notification that Michel’s ankle monitor “had been tampered with.” Officers then traveled to her last known location on the agency’s GPS system, the medical examiner’s office, she said.

“Upon arrival, local staff refused to cooperate or even talk with ICE federal law enforcement officials,” Bis continued. “Our officers instead had to call the [U.S.] Marshal’s service, who were let into the building and were given the severed ankle monitor. However, staff refused to even tell the U.S. Marshals about the individual’s condition.

“ICE was never given official notification of her passing, and found out about her death via the media thanks to the local county’s refusal to even have a conversation with federal law enforcement.”

Eighteen people have died in ICE custody so far this year, according to the agency. Michel is not included in that total. Last year, ICE reported that 33 people died in its custody.

A 2024 report from the American Civil Liberties Union stated that medical experts concluded that 49 of the 52 deaths ICE reported in its custody from the start of 2017 through the end of 2021 were “preventable or possibly preventable” if the people received “appropriate” medical care.

The report also noted that medical staff at ICE detention facilities made incorrect, inappropriate or incomplete diagnoses in 88 percent of the aforementioned 52 death cases.