PITTSBURGH — Community members held a vigil in Pittsburgh’s South Shore on Sunday to mourn the death of 31-year-old Daphy Michel.
Tea lights and flowers were placed near a photo of Michel at the East Carson Street-Smithfield Street bus shelter.
Supporters poured out a libation honoring Michel and decried alleged systemic issues they say led to her death.
According to the Allegheny County Medical Examiner’s Office, Michel was declared deceased at a hospital on March 2, following an unspecified incident along East Carson Street.
Supporters claim Michel, a Charleroi resident, spent months in jail after being arrested during a possible mental health incident. When her charges were dropped, she was allegedly placed in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody and released in Pittsburgh with an ankle monitor.
Michel was found unresponsive at that South Shore bus shelter three days later, supporters say.
While speakers during Sunday’s vigil criticized American institutions over Michel’s death, the Department of Homeland Security has denied any responsibility.
In a March 14 post on X, DHS claimed ICE had “NOTHING to do with this woman’s death,” which it says happened three days after ICE first encountered her.
ICE released Michel on Feb. 27 with “all of her personal belongings, including a fully charged phone” in Pittsburgh, with ready access to public transport, DHS said. ICE was allegedly informed of her death by media reports, after Allegheny County officials were uncooperative and would not provide information when Michel’s ankle monitor was severed.
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