Family plans to sue after immigrant froze to death
By: Finch Walker
USA Today Network
..... The family of a Haitian immigrant who died in Pittsburgh after being released by Immigration and Customs Enforcement into freezing weather plans to sue in the upcoming weeks.
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Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian immigrant, froze to death on March 1 [2026] after ICE left her in Pittsburgh, miles from her home in Charlerol, Washington County, Pennsylvania, wearing summer clothes.
..... The agency detained her in late February [2026] and released her in Pittsburgh with an ankle monitor.
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Attorney Joseph Murphy, who represents members of Michel's family, said a lawsuit again the United States and other government and nongovernmental entities would be filed within two or three weeks, The guardian reported.
..... As of August 3, [2026] Michhel's family had not filed a lawsuit, and it wasn't clear who the plaintiffs or the defendants would be.
..... Michel was born in Haiti and legally came to the United States, Murphy said.
..... She overstayed her authorized period in the country as she awaited a decision in her asylum case, he said, according to CBS News Pittsburgh.
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She was arrested by police in September 2025 after a caller said she appeared to be having a mental health crisis in Charleroi, a bough south of Pittsburgh in Washington County. During the incident, she was screaming in apparent response to imaginary voices and wielding a knife.
..... After Michel spent six months in Washington County jail, a judge dismissed the case in February. [2026]
But Michel - who was scheduled for an immigration hearing several weeks later - was arrested again in late February, [2026] this time by ICE, which took her to its office in south Pittsburgh and placed an ankle monitor on her.
..... The Department of Homeland Security said ICE release Michel in Pittsburgh on February 27, [2026] CBS News Pittsburgh reported. On March 1, [2026] she was discovered on the ground at a bus shelter near Station Square. She died after being taken to a hospital.
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The Allegheny County Medical Examiner's Office ruled her death homicide in June [2026] - with the cause of death listed as hypothermia, and homicide as the manner of death.
..... "The opinion of the forensic pathologist in this case is the Ms. Michel was a vulnerable adult, suffering from unrated severe mental health issues and a significant language barrier when she was released from federal custody on February 27," [2026] a statement released by the medical examiner through the Allegheny County Police Department said on June 12. [2026]
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On February 27, [2026] the temperature fell from 55 degrees to 25 degrees, reported the National Weather Service. On March 1, [2026] the observed high was 38 degrees, and the observed low was 20 degrees.
..... In a lengthy statement posted on March 14 [2026] on X, DHS said ICE had "NOTHING" to do with Michel's death.
..... "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," the statement from DHS said in part.
..... Murphy said Michel's phone plan expired while she was in jail, The Guardian reported.