Death of a refugee left at a Buffalo doughnut shop by Border Patrol is ruled a homicide
Death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar In February, he was found on a Buffalo street five days later by Border Patrol agents. I left it at a donut shop It was treated as a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.
The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office was unable to reach any conclusions regarding responsibility for the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam; This was due to complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration, the agency said. Ruling a death as a homicide means that it was caused by the actions or inactions of another person, but does not necessarily mean that a crime has been committed.
“This wasn’t supposed to happen,” Democratic Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz said at a news conference Wednesday. He declined to comment when asked whether the Border Patrol was responsible for his death, saying such a decision would be up to law enforcement.
State’s Attorney Letitia James and Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane, both Democrats, said Wednesday that their offices were reviewing the case. Keane said in a statement that his office had requested Shah Alam’s full autopsy report but that it “would not be appropriate” to comment further.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday noted Shah Alam’s previous statement that he “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues or disability requiring special assistance” when agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons restaurant on Feb. 19.
“This death had NOTHING to do with” its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security Border Patrol, he said in a Feb. 27 social media post, denouncing coverage of the case as an effort to “demonize our law enforcement.”
Immigrant advocates called for justice for Muslim Party member Shah Alam on Wednesday Rohingya ethnic minority. The group has faced discrimination and oppression in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, said Shah Alam sought safety in the United States and was “instead left to die on the street” and called for a criminal investigation into the conduct of Border Patrol agents: “Every single person involved in this incident must be held accountable.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly called for accountability for everyone involved and said her aides spoke with the district attorney Wednesday afternoon. Hochul, a Democrat and Buffalo native, criticized the “cruelty and inhumanity” of leaving a man who could barely speak or see English outside a then-closed restaurant.
Customs and Border Protection said the restaurant was chosen as a “warm and safe place” close to Shah Alam’s last known address.
Because the autopsy report is confidential under New York law, many details about the man’s health and final days are not made public.
But Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein told reporters in Shah Alam that the disease, commonly known as stress ulcer, occurs due to dehydration and exposure to cold. The ulcer pierces the intestinal wall, creating a very painful medical emergency that often requires prompt treatment, he said.
Shah Alam, 56, left Myanmar years ago for Malaysia, where he worked in construction. He came to the United States as a refugee with his wife and two children in December 2024, according to the family’s lawyers.
Imran Fazal, who knew the family and founded a group called Rohingya Empowerment Community, said Shah Alam’s death left people in sadness and fear.
“This tragedy was entirely preventable and reflects a serious failure in systems to protect vulnerable people,” Fazal said in a statement on Wednesday. he said.
Shah Alam spent nearly a year in the Erie County jail in 2025 on aggravated assault and other charges following a struggle with police who encountered him carrying what appeared to be a curtain rod. Police said he bit two officers; His family’s lawyers said he did not understand officers’ orders to drop off the items.
He eventually pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges and was released from jail on February 19. Border Patrol briefly detained him before determining he was ineligible for deportation. His family, who was waiting for him to be released from prison, was not informed about this.
Surveillance video obtained by Inquiry MailIt showed Shah Alam walking carefully through the empty parking lot of a Tim Hortons in county-issued jail boots, pulling his hood up against the cold and walking into the night.
Shah Alam’s attorney eventually reported her missing to Buffalo police on Feb. 22.
He was found dead on February 24 near the downtown sports arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabers play. It was unclear how he got there from a Tim Hortons a few miles away, and it was impossible to determine exactly when he died, Burstein said Wednesday.
