A 20-year-old Haitian, Pierre Damas Bel, who recently graduated from a high school in Ohio, has died by suicide after losing temporary protected status.

Mr Bel, who arrived U.S. in 2024, was among over 350,000 Haitian immigrants who lost TPS status and now risk deportation from the U.S., following Supreme Court’s June verdict endorsing President Donald Trump’s administration plan to end the programme. 

The Ohio State Highway Patrol, in a statement, said Mr Bel died on Monday walking into oncoming traffic after parking his vehicle on the right shoulder of Interstate 70. 

“Bel succumbed to fatal injuries at the scene,” the Ohio State Highway Patrol said, adding that further investigations were ongoing.

Before Mr Bel died by suicide, he had lamented being fitted with a GPS ankle monitor by the Department of Homeland Security as part of the department’s effort to track former TPS holders.

“I came to this country to pursue my education, I didn’t come here to commit a crime or hurt anyone,” Mr Bel posted on social media in July.

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.” 

A statement by his father, Pierre Ronal Bel, read at a press conference on Tuesday by Pastor Carl Ruby stated, “After my son was outfitted with the ankle monitor, he felt like he was treated like an animal.

“He took two trips to Cincinnati and Westerville to plead with the officers to remove the bracelet, since he’s a soccer player, and he felt embarrassed and humiliated. He called me at 8:03 on a video call, and he said, ‘Dad, I’m not feeling OK. I’m not thinking right.’ And I told him, ‘Come, come home so that we can talk.’ Around 11 o’clock, police showed up at my door to report that my son had thrown himself under a truck.”