The Department of Homeland Security said Wednesday that a Haitian national accused of killing a coworker during a dispute at a Michigan food processing facility should not be released from custody.
Valmir Djempsley, 20, has been charged in connection with the June 30 death of Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez, 21, at the Clemens Food Group plant in Coldwater, Michigan.
Authorities say the deadly encounter began as an argument between the two men. During the confrontation, Djempsley allegedly pursued Chavez with a knife and stabbed him in the back. Djempsley later told investigators that Chavez had headbutted him during the dispute.
Valmir Djempsley, a Haitian national described by DHS as an illegal immigrant, was charged with fatally stabbing his coworker, 21-year-old Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez, at a Michigan food processing plant. (Getty Images; Department of Homeland Security)
Chavez died at the plant despite efforts by first responders to save him. Local prosecutors have said Djempsley was on a work visa at the time of the incident, according to local reports.
DHS said Djempsley entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2024 and was later released into the country under the Biden administration. He has been charged with murder and has pleaded not guilty. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged a detainer request with local authorities seeking custody of Djempsley.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents walk down a street during a multi-agency targeted enforcement operation in Chicago Jan. 26. (Christopher Dilts/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
“This illegal alien barbarically stabbed his coworker to death,” acting DHS Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis said. “This murderer was released into American communities by the Biden administration. If it weren’t for the reckless open border policies of the Biden administration, this criminal never would have been in our country in the first place, and his victim would still be alive.”
“We have lodged a detainer asking Michigan to not release this dangerous criminal from jail without notifying ICE.”
At the time of the killing, the men were arguing over Chavez using one of Djempsley’s knives, according to an affidavit obtained by the Sturgis Journal.
Djempsley was denied bond and is being held in the Branch County jail.
“The defendant at the time of this crime was a guest in our country. He should have been on his best behavior, but instead, he spilled the lifeblood of another human being,” a Branch County prosecutor said in court.
“This is the most serious violation known to humankind.”
