'Abolish ICE,' Summer Lee Says After Haitian Immigrant Daphy Michel's Death Ruled a Homicide

Congresswoman Summer Lee renewed her call to abolish US Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday after the Allegheny County Office of the Medical Examiner ruled the death of Daphy Michel, a Haitian immigrant who died after being released from ICE custody, a homicide.

"Michel died on March 2, four days after departing the Washington County Correctional Facility, where she spent six months awaiting a preliminary hearing on misdemeanor charges of terroristic threats and harassment, which were ultimately dismissed," Pittsburgh's Public Source reported in April. "She was turned over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, which fitted her with an ankle bracelet and released her under the agency's Alternatives to Detention Program."

The 31-year-old Charleroi resident then "spent around 24 hours across the last two days of her life in sub-freezing weather in a bus shelter on the South Shore," according to the the outlet, which cited visual records released by Pittsburgh Regional Transit.

The medical examiner's office said in a Friday statement that she died of hypothermia, and "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."

"Based on all available information during the investigation, the pathologist ruled Ms. Michel's death a homicide," the office said. The finding means "the death was caused by the actions of another individual," but is "not to be interpreted as a declaration of criminal guilt."

Emma Federkeil, a spokesperson for Allegheny County District Attorney Stephen A. Zappala Jr., told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the office hasn't yet seen a copy of the report and opinion.

"As such," she Federkeil, "we must obtain a copy of the official report and opinion and any and all records relied on by the report, in order to determine the basis for the finding of homicide as the manner of death which requires a finding the death occurred 'at the hand of another.'"

"As we gather the necessary investigation documentation and reports," she added, "we cannot comment further."

ICE is part of the US Department of Homeland Security. In response to the newspaper's request for comment, DHS acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis reiterated the text of a March statement and added that "all illegal aliens who are processed have access to phones to call family, friends, and attorneys."

Regardless of any criminal charges, Joseph Murphy, an attorney who has represented Michel's family since her death, told Public Source that he expects a civil lawsuit in the weeks ahead.

Lee (D-Pa.), who has joined other progressives in calling for an end to ICE throughout President Donald Trump's deadly crackdowns on immigrants across the United States, stressed in a Friday statement that "Daphy Michel was a human being. She happened to be born on the other side of a border, but she was no less worthy of care, safety, and dignity. That should not have been a death sentence. Daphy's death was preventable and is the result of a violent system that cages people, surveils them, abandons them, dehumanizes them in life, and smears them in death to escape accountability."

"She deserved care, shelter, language access, and medical support. ICE and every agency that failed her must answer for this," Lee continued. "And now, as more people die in and around ICE custody, their answer is not transparency, accountability, or care, but to stop reporting the deaths of recently released detainees altogether. We may never know how many more stories like Daphy's have been hidden by a system built to disappear people. Rather than pour billions more into the agency that murdered her, we must abolish ICE and build systems rooted in equity and basic human dignity."

As Trump has pursued his mass deportation agenda since returning to office last year, at least dozens of people have died in ICE custody or shortly after being released. Earlier this month, ICE announced that it was rescinding a 2021 Biden administration policy requiring a report to Congress and an investigation any time a detainee died within 30 days of their release.

Following that announcement, the Republican-controlled Congress sent a bill with nearly $70 billion in new DHS funding to Trump's desk. The legislation, which the president signed on Wednesday, includes $38 billion for ICE and $26 billion for US Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

"House Republicans handed ICE and CBP billions more while families struggle to afford rent, groceries, childcare, and healthcare," Lee said on social media after the chamber's vote. "Congress shouldn't be writing blank checks for cruelty while everyday people are being crushed by rising costs."