A Haitian asylum seeker’s death days after her release from ICE custody has been ruled a homicide, intensifying scrutiny of how immigration authorities handle vulnerable detainees. The woman, Daphy Michel, was found unresponsive at a Pittsburgh bus shelter and later died of hypothermia, according to NBC News.

Michel, 31, died on March 2, three days after she was released from federal custody. The medical examiner said the manner of death was homicide, a legal medical classification meaning another person’s actions contributed to the death.

​According to News 4, Michel had been held in Washington County Jail on misdemeanor charges that a judge tossed on February 26. Her brother Carlo left the court relieved, expecting to pick her up soon. “At the court, I saw my sister. I saw Daphy. She wasn't having any problem.”

But ICE had a detainer waiting. They picked her up the next day, enrolled her in their "Alternatives to Detention" program with an ankle monitor, and released her onto the streets of Pittsburgh, about an hour from home and in a city she barely knew. Port Authority Police shared that maintenance workers spotted her early that Monday on East Carson Street. Port Authority cops rushed over, tried CPR, an AED, and even Narcan, but she had no pulse. 

Her family’s attorney said he expects a lawsuit against ICE, while the Department of Homeland Security has denied responsibility for the death. DHS spokesperson Lauren Bis told AP that ICE “had NOTHING to do with this woman’s death.”

The case has drawn attention because of Michel’s reported mental health challenges and language barrier, which county officials said made her especially vulnerable when she left custody. It also comes amid broader debate over how the U.S. immigration system treats asylum seekers with medical or mental health needs.

Michel’s death is now part of a wider conversation about accountability, not only in immigration enforcement, but in how public systems respond when someone is at risk after release. Advocates and family members say the question is not just what happened in those final days, but whether she should have been left on her own at all.