How is the death of Pierre Damas Bel resonating with Ohio’s Haitian community?

0:00It's Consider This where every day we go deep on one big news story. Today, how a shocking death in Springfield, Ohio, is resonating there and far beyond. 20-year-old Pierre DeMoss Bell arrived in the U.S. from Haiti in 2024. He graduated high school with honors, was involved with ROTC, and recently enrolled at Wright State University. But on Monday, Bell died. He had aspirations to major in neuroscience. He told me how much education was important to him. Yola Lamar spoke at a press conference on Tuesday. She's a friend and member of the Haitian Community Network in Ohio. Bell's family believes that he died by suicide, motivated by the loss of his temporary protected status, or TPS, a loss that so many Haitian immigrants experienced earlier this summer.

0:54This past July, Bell had written on his Instagram account that ICE had placed a GPS monitor on his ankle. He said he was, quote, carrying a feeling of shame and humiliation that I never imagined I would experience. Pierre was more patriotic than hateful Americans that's pushing this harmful, dehumanizing rhetoric. Consider this. President Trump's immigration policies have become a flashpoint in Bell's death. We hear from a faith leader about how this death is resonating with the broader Haitian community in Springfield.

1:42From NPR, I'm Elsa Chang.

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3:01It's Consider This from NPR. Joining me to share more about the life of Pierre de Moss Bell is Carl Ruby. He's the senior pastor of the Central Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio. He is also an immigration advocate and has been with Bell's family since his death. And a warning, our conversation does include graphic descriptions of violence. Pastor Ruby, thank you so much for making the time to speak with us. You're welcome, Elsa. Can you just first tell me a little bit about Pierre? What was he like? Pierre was friendly, joyful. Everyone who knew him loved him. His teachers speak well of him.

3:44He works at the Texas Roadhouse. His fellow employees and managers speak well of him. He was just a joyful, very smart young man who wanted to be a doctor. I know that you've been in very close contact with Pierre's family this week. Can you share how they're doing right now? Yeah, I mean, they're devastated, like all of our families would be. I think the difference is they're devastated and they're angry because this was just so unnecessary. This young man had never even had a traffic ticket, posed no threat at all. He was just terrified of going back to Haiti. Yeah. What is Pierre's family saying to you about his death?

4:30Why do they think it happened? They believe that it happened because of the ankle monitor. He was teased at school about it. He's a student at Wright State. He posted about it. He talked with friends about it. I mean, there are two things. He was ashamed of it and he was afraid of going back to Haiti. So it's a combination of those two things. And I think what kind of pushed him over the brink was in the ROTC class, they were handing out uniforms. And everyone in the class got a uniform except for him. And he was told he couldn't get one because of his immigration status or the ankle monitor. Mm-hmm.

5:13This is so horrific. and I'm wondering if you've had a sense to talk to a number of people in the Haitian community in Springfield and if you're gathering just how this death this week is affecting the broader community there, the broader Haitian community. Well, I've heard lots of reports of people who are suicidal. So in some sense, this doesn't come as a big surprise. ice. It's like every time the Haitian community begins to get their balance, they get hit again. And they've taken one hit after another here in Springfield. The first one recently was when they started getting letters telling them they had to show up at the ICE office down in Blue Ash or over in Westerville.

6:02And that's where they get the ankle monitors, which everyone here refers to his shackles now. And the second blow was there's just a dramatic increase in ice activity. They're here every single day picking up people. They seem to want to do it in areas where lots of people see them. It's usually on one of the main streets, gas stations or grocery stores. They're just terrified. And it's hard because they've all lost their jobs. They don't have money. People are trying to take food to them. And they're afraid to come out of their homes, but they are more afraid of going back to Haiti. Yeah. And just living in that state of mind sounds so incredibly tiring, exhausting, and frightening.

6:52Yeah. I was walking into an ICE appointment with a man from my church. church and as we were walking down the sidewalk to the door, he leaned over and he said, Pastor, the gangs in Haiti just kidnapped my brother. And I said, what happened to him? And he said, they burned him. I said, is he okay? And he said, no, they burned him alive. And I've heard multiple stories like that just from the small sample of Haitians who attend my church. You know, I talked to a reporter who's down there right now. He's embedded with the gang suppression regiment. And he said people who've been deported are getting off the planes and running for their lives.

7:33You know, part of what happens, the government talks about giving them$2 ,400 or$2 ,600 if they self-deport. The gangs assume everyone's getting off the plane has that money. So they are targets. And they don't have that. I haven't heard of anyone getting that money. I've heard they get$65 from someone in Haiti, and that's it. So the level of fear is just so, so high. They will do anything, including take their lives not to go back. Carl Ruby is the senior pastor at the Central Christian Church in Springfield, Ohio. Pastor Ruby, I'm so sorry for why we are talking today, but I thank you so much for joining us.

8:19Thank you, Allison. And if you or someone you know is in crisis or if you're thinking about hurting yourself, please, you can call or text the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988. Also, NPR has reached out to Wright State University ROTC for comment, and we have not yet heard back. This episode was produced by Erica Ryan and Karen Zamora with audio engineering by Eowyn Fane and Ted Meebane. Our director is Jonas Adams. It was edited by Sarah Handel and Tinbeat Ermias. Our interim executive producer is Courtney Dorney.

8:59It's Consider This from NPR. I'm Elsa Chang. Canada and tariffs, Venezuela and oil, the war in Iran. These are big, complicated stories, and they're changing fast. To stay ahead, start your day with Up First from NPR. New episodes are available each weekday when you wake up. So when news shifts overnight, you always have the latest info. Up first on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts. On Dear Life Kit, our team answers your listener questions with time-tested advice from past episodes. But we don't always agree. Opposite, no! That's not what we thought. What if he's the one? Oh my god.

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