Exclusive: Daphy Michel, from Haiti, was dropped off in Pittsburgh in 20F temperatures wearing summer clothes

• ‘She showed love for everyone’: how did Daphy Michel end up frozen to death in a Pittsburgh bus shelter?

The family of a Haitian immigrant who froze to death in early March at a bus shelter in Pittsburgh after she was dropped off in the city by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is poised to file a lawsuit this month against the United States and “multiple other governmental and non-governmental entities”, the Guardian has learned.

Daphy Michel, 31, had been in county jail for six months after a reported mental health crisis and street incident, and then was arrested by ICE before being released with a ankle monitor.

Haitian immigrant with mental illness found dead after ICE released her in 20F weather wearing summer clothes

• Family to sue after woman released from ICE custody froze to death

On the night of 26 February this year, the Michel family in Pennsylvania expected to see their loved one, Daphy, again very soon.

After she had spent six months in jail, a judge had dismissed criminal charges against her and one of her brothers was told she would be released soon, probably the next day.