COLDWATER, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – A fatal stabbing at a Michigan meat processing plant at the end of June has become more than just a murder case. It’s now another flashpoint in the debate over illegal immigration and whether dangerous offenders should ever have been in the country to begin with.
Argument over a knife ends in death.
According to investigators, 20-year-old Haitian national Valmir Djempsley is accused of chasing down and fatally stabbing his coworker, 21-year-old Brandon Eduardo Velasquez Chavez, during an argument at the Clemens Food Group facility in Coldwater on June 29.
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Prosecutors say the dispute centered on a work knife before escalating into violence. Witnesses reported seeing Djempsley pursue Chavez before allegedly stabbing him in the back. He has pleaded not guilty to an open murder charge and is being held without bond.
ICE: Don’t let him walk.
On Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has lodged an immigration detainer, asking Michigan authorities not to release Djempsley without first notifying ICE.
According to DHS, Djempsley entered the United States illegally through Texas in 2024 and was released into the country by the Biden Administration before eventually making his way to Michigan.
According to a statement from DHS Acting Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis, “This illegal alien barbarically stabbed his coworker to death. 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.”
The criminal case comes first. But if Djempsley is eventually released from state custody, attention will shift to whether Michigan officials hand him over to ICE or decline the agency’s request for custody.
