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Ohio officials and candidates alike have reacted to the death of a 20-year-old Haitian immigrant who died by apparent suicide after being bullied because of his immigration status and the ankle monitor he was required to have.

Pierre Damas Bel was a Springfield High School graduate and Wright State University student at the time of his death, when he walked into Interstate 70 traffic on Aug. 31. Social media posts from Damas Bel’s account talked about his desire to pursue his education in the U.S., to build a future and play college-level soccer while working toward medical school.

“Yet now I’m walking through the streets of the United States with a GPS monitor on my leg, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience,” Damas Bel wrote.

His father said Damas Bel had told him earlier in the day on Aug. 31 that he hadn’t been “feeling okay mentally because of the bullying” he was receiving due to the ankle monitor.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement required the tracking anklet after the Trump administration eliminated Temporary Protected Status for Haitian immigrants living in Springfield and across the country.

At a vigil for Damas Bel on Sept. 2 at Columbus City Hall, state Rep. Munira Abdullahi, D-Columbus, related to Damas Bel’s story of hoping to better the country with his presence. She decried the process that brought with it an ankle monitor and discouragement for the young student.

“We can not accept an immigration system that loses sight of people over paperwork and political dogma,” Abdullahi said. “Pierre deserved better. His family deserves better.”

She demanded the end of “cruelties,” the release of those in ICE detention, and “for my colleagues across the aisle and our Congress members to stand up and do something about this and end it.”

More than 40 Haitians living in Springfield had already been detained by ICE at the time of Damas Bel’s death.

Abdullahi’s fellow state Rep. Latyna Humphrey, also a Democrat representing Columbus, released a statement honoring Damas Bel and talking about the “devastating toll” the immigration process had had on him.

“There are real human beings behind every immigration policy and every government action,” Humphrey said. “…Whatever our political disagreements about immigration may be, our government should never lose sight of the dignity and humanity of the people affected by its decisions.”

The Ohio Senate Democratic Caucus released a joint statement calling Damas Bel’s death “a direct result of this administration’s inhumane and racist immigration policies.”

Democratic Ohio U.S. Rep. Greg Landsman said his office has “reached out directly to the Department of Homeland Security to end the use of ankle monitors on our Haitian neighbors who have done nothing wrong.”

According to the letter dated Sept. 3, Landsman mentioned Damas Bel by name in pushing for the Department of Homeland Security to “reconsider the policy of requiring former TPS holders with no criminal history to wear ankle monitors while going through the legal immigration process.”

“Our country needs border security and immigration enforcement, but the manner in which we prioritize deportations and allocate resources is skewed,” the letter read. “We are wasting time, money, and lives targeting good, law-abiding people rather than clearly prioritizing threats to public safety.”

In a separate statement, Landsman said the U.S. House has passed legislation to extend temporary protections for Haitians for three years, but the U.S. Senate has not taken up the measure.

Federal immigration officials have encouraged Haitians to “self-deport,” despite the fact that the U.S. Department of State still lists Haiti at a Level Four “Do Not Travel” advisory because of the risk of “crime, kidnapping, terrorism, unrest, and limited healthcare.”

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine has made previous comments disagreeing with the decision to end the Temporary Protected Status for Haitians in Springfield, believing that “it will hurt us in the long run.”

“You’ve heard me talk a lot about what I consider to be a very misguided and wrong policy in regard to mass deporting people from this country,” DeWine said in comments on Sept. 1.

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He said there are consequences to mass deportation, just as there are for other things done by the government. In defending the work of immigrant populations, he said one-third of caregivers in nursing homes and home healthcare workers are immigrants.

“I think we have to ask ourselves: Is it really good, is it what we want done, to see people like this being picked up and facing deportation,” DeWine said. “Do we want that done in our name? And my position has been that it’s a mistake.”

DeWine also said, however, that he felt the Trump administration “has done a very good job with regard to the Southern border, and I think that’s what people wanted.”

Former congressman and Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Sherrod Brown said in a Substack post about Damas Bel that he agreed with DeWine on the issue of immigrants in Springfield, adding that the decision to suspend TPS for the Haitian community “was wrong and has done nothing to make our communities safer.”

The incumbent in the Senate seat for which Brown is campaigning, Republican U.S. Sen. Jon Husted, did not release a statement about Damas Bel. In a Sept. 3 press conference, he said his office plans to help those who have had their Temporary Protected Status taken away “to find out if there are any other methods for them to stay here legally,” but his office plans to maintain “the rule of law,” according to the Springfield News-Sun.

The Democratic candidate for governor, Dr. Amy Acton, released a statement saying she was “devastated by the tragic passing” of Damas Bel.

“Everyone in Ohio deserves to feel safe and to be treated with dignity, and we can uphold the rule of law without creating chaos and fear in our communities,” Acton said in a statement. “Ohio, this is a moment where we are all being asked to stand up for our common humanity. We must build a better way forward.”

In terms of immigration enforcement, Acton has made comments that conflict with Ohio Democratic Party stances, saying she wouldn’t prevent local law enforcement from working with federal law enforcement.

Republican candidate for governor Vivek Ramaswamy didn’t release comments on Damas Bel, but has previously made comments that the Trump administration’s general mass deportation policy was “pragmatic.”

Back in 2024, Ramaswamy attended a town hall in Springfield, in which residents expressed concerns about the number of Haitians in the community. Ramaswamy said he didn’t blame the Haitian migrants who were brought here “by unconscionable means,” instead blaming “federal policies,” according to coverage of the meeting by WSYX.

At the time, Ramaswamy also said he supported mass deportation, but “if you’re going to pick a limited number, you may as well pick the ones who are most likely able to assimilate, most likely to participate in economic action, and those who are able to actually integrate their kids into the schools.”

Megan Henry contributed to this article.

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