Springfield Mourns Haitian Student Pierre Damas Bel, Citing Immigration System's Role in His Death

Springfield, Ohio — Hundreds of family, friends, and community members gathered Saturday at St. John’s Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield to remember Pierre Damas Bel, a 20-year-old Haitian college student who died by apparent suicide on August 31.

His family attributes his death to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) requirement for him to wear an ankle monitor, a measure implemented after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the end of temporary protected status for Haitians fleeing violence in their home country.

The funeral service, conducted in a mix of Haitian Creole and English, honored Damas Bel as a hard-working, loving, and dependable young man with significant aspirations. Carl Ruby, pastor of Springfield’s Central Christian Church, stated that attendees came to mourn Damas Bel but also to remember with gratitude the life he lived and the people he loved. Ernie Brown, senior pastor of St. John Missionary Baptist Church, urged remembrance of how Damas Bel lived, the relationships he formed, and the love surrounding him, not solely the tragedy of his end.

Damas Bel was born in Tiburon, Haiti, and arrived in the United States in 2021. He was a first-year neuroscience student at Wright State University, harboring hopes of attending medical school to eventually build a hospital in Haiti. In addition to his studies, he worked at Texas Roadhouse. He had recently graduated from Springfield High School in May, where he participated in the Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps and played on the school’s soccer team. Pastor Ruby described Damas Bel as not simply a student with ambitions, but a young man who believed in helping people, remembered by his family as loving, obedient, dependable, and compassionate.

Damas Bel was raised by his father and stepmother and had two younger siblings. His father, Pierre Ronal Bel, described their deep relationship in a statement read aloud at the service, saying his son knew everything about him and he still felt his presence. His stepmother, Landy St. Juste, shared how Damas Bel assisted her with job applications, interpreted for her, and regularly checked on her well-being, calling him loving and kind. His younger brother, Bradley Bel, spoke of Damas Bel always making him feel like he was never alone and being someone he could always count on.

The end of legal protected status for Haitians officially occurred on July 27. Following this, Haitians living in Springfield have been required to report to ICE offices in Blue Ash or Westerville to accept ankle monitors. Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, asserted that while Damas Bel might have died by suicide, he was "killed by the system." Yola Lamarre, an advocate with the Haitian Community Network, echoed this sentiment, stating that Damas Bel’s legacy marks how the criminalization of Haitian immigrants can be an unnecessary death sentence.

Ohio Governor Mike DeWine attended the funeral and spoke with Damas Bel’s family. DeWine mentioned he and his wife Fran had lost a 22-year-old daughter, offering his understanding of their grief and his desire to be there for the family. Springfield Mayor Robert Rue also attended, seated next to Governor DeWine. Ohio state Representative Latyna Humphrey, a Democrat from Columbus, spoke on behalf of the Ohio Legislative Black Caucus, highlighting Damas Bel’s participation in the American dream, his willingness to work for his family and community, and his aspirations for education.

Pastor Ruby noted that some attendees at the funeral might not have known Damas Bel personally but came to show support for his family and the broader Haitian community in Springfield. He conveyed a message that Haitians who have come to Springfield are a blessing, not a burden, making the city better. He emphasized that they are not guests but a part of the community, and the community does not want them to be removed. Approximately 15,000 Haitians reside in Springfield, holding a mix of temporary protected status, citizenship, and other legal statuses. Since July 27, five Haitians from Springfield have been deported to Haiti, and nearly 75 Haitians living in Ohio have been detained in one of four state detention facilities contracting with ICE.

Pastor Ruby drew a parallel between Damas Bel’s death and that of Emmett Till, who was lynched in 1955. Ruby stated that, like Till, Damas Bel died under the weight of a racialized system that did not provide him with equal liberty and justice, and a way of governing that failed to recognize his inalienable rights. He expressed hope that Damas Bel’s death could initiate a movement for justice for all Haitian people.