LIES! Haitian Woman Didn’t Die from ICE Neglect – Was Released Safely in Pittsburgh Cassandra MacDonald
A story spreading widely on social media claims that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) abandoned a Haitian asylum seeker far from home without informing her family, suggesting that the situation contributed to her death days later. Federal officials say that account is inaccurate and insist the agency had no role in the woman’s death.
The Department of Homeland Security stated that the events being shared online misrepresent what happened to Daphy Michel, a 31-year-old Haitian national who came to the United States in December 2022.
Michel was taken into custody earlier this year by local authorities in Washington County, Pennsylvania. She had been charged with making terroristic threats and harassment. Those charges were dismissed in February.
After the case was dropped, ICE encountered Michel and placed her in immigration removal proceedings. Rather than detaining her, officers enrolled her in the agency’s Alternatives to Detention program. As part of that program, she was fitted with an electronic ankle monitor and released from ICE’s office in Pittsburgh.
According to DHS, Michel left the facility with all of her personal belongings, including a fully charged phone. Officials say she was released in downtown Pittsburgh during clear weather and had access to nearby public transportation. Her immigration case was still ongoing, and she remained under electronic monitoring.
Three days later, on March 2, Michel was discovered unresponsive at a bus stop in Pittsburgh. She was later pronounced dead. Authorities have not publicly confirmed the cause of death. Some reports have suggested cardiac arrest, but toxicology results have not yet been released.
Despite the timeline, critics online quickly blamed ICE, claiming the agency had released her without informing relatives and implying that negligence led to her death. DHS says those accusations are false.
Federal officials stated that Michel died several days after her release and that ICE did not learn of her death directly from local authorities. Instead, the agency says it first became aware of the situation through media reports.
ICE had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death. She passed away THREE days after ICE encountered her.
Following her arrest by local authorities for Terroristic Threats and Harassment, Daphy Michel, an illegal alien from Haiti, was encountered by ICE and placed in removal… https://t.co/NJGwIOjoAH
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) March 14, 2026
On March 3, ICE received an alert indicating that Michel’s ankle monitor had been tampered with. Officers then traveled to the last GPS location connected to the device, which pointed to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office.
According to DHS, when federal officers arrived they were not allowed to obtain information from local staff about Michel’s condition. ICE says employees at the facility declined to cooperate or speak with federal agents. The agency then contacted the U.S. Marshals Service, whose personnel were permitted inside the building.
The Marshals were able to recover the severed ankle monitor but, according to DHS, were still not provided information about Michel’s status.
Officials also said ICE never received formal notification from local authorities that Michel had died. The agency maintains it learned of her death only after media coverage surfaced, which DHS attributed to the county’s refusal to communicate with federal law enforcement.
Federal officials continue to state that ICE had no involvement in Michel’s death and that the online claims circulating about the incident misrepresent what occurred.
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