Vigil Planned In Bergen County For Legal Immigrant Who Died After Receiving Ankle Monitor

TEANECK, NJ — Activists in Bergen County will hold a vigil on Friday night for a college student and legal immigrant who took his own life after receiving an ankle monitor.

Pierre Damas Bel, 20, was in the country on Temporary Protected Status — an asylum program allowing immigrants to live and work in America while it's unsafe to return to their former country.

Bel, who came from Haiti, was an honors student who studied neuroscience, intended to become a doctor, and was recruited to play soccer in college.

When the presidential administration ended TPS status for him and others in July, he received an ankle monitor.

Weeks later, he parked his car near a highway and walked in front of a truck, according to ABC News. His grieving father told the media he was humiliated by being forced to wear the monitor, and Bel himself had posted on social media that it made him feel shame.

The vigil will be held at 7 p.m. Friday at Teaneck Road and East Cedar Lane.

More details are here.

The event is being hosted by GWB indivisible. Those seeking more information can reach out to gwbindivisible@gmail.com.