An honour roll student and college athlete took his own life this week after being forced to wear an ankle monitor for months while dealing with immigration issues.

Pierre Damas Bel, 20, was a Haitian student at Wright State University and told his loved ones he felt ‘humiliated’ by the monitoring device.

On Monday, after months of bullying, he walked into oncoming traffic in Ohio and died from his injuries.

His father said: ‘I told him to come home so we can talk. Around 11, the police showed up at my door to report that my son threw himself under a truck.’

Pierre immigrated to the US in 2024 using the CBP One app, which allowed travellers and foreign nationals to expedite processing to enter the United States.

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He and his family settled in Springfield, Ohio, where he became an honour roll student and joined the junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps. He was recruited to play football (soccer) at a nearby university and had dreams of attending medical school, his lawyers said.

In July, a future which seemed ripe with opportunity was stalled when Immigration and Customs Enforcement put him in an ‘alternatives to detention’ programme while his protected immigration status was reviewed.

Pierre was forced to wear an ankle monitor for months, and wrote on social media that he came to the country to study, not to ‘commit a crime or hurt anyone’.

He added: ‘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.’

Guerline Jozef, executive director of the Haitian Bridge Alliance, said that in addition to the harassment Pierre had been facing, he was terrified of returning to Haiti, where gang violence runs rampant.

‘This is our worst fear and nightmare come true,’ he added.

Pierre’s ankle monitor meant he was no longer able to play on his university’s soccer team.

He transferred to another university, where he was relentlessly bullied, according to his family.

ICE has not issued a comment on Pierre’s death as an investigation continues.

Samaritans are here to listen, day or night, 365 days a year. You can call them for free on 116 123, email [email protected] or visit samaritans.org for more information.

Carl Ruby, a local pastor and immigration advocate, told the media that his death was caused by a ‘political problem’ that needed a ‘political solution’.

‘The only way that this will never be correct is if Republican elected officials join us in demanding better policy,’ Ruby explained.

Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine has slammed the authorities for what he called a ‘tragedy’.

He told the media: ‘I think we have to ask ourselves: Is this really good?

‘Is it what we want done to people like this being picked up and facing deportation? Do we want that being done in our name?’

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