Nearly blind refugee found dead in New York days after immigration agents dropped him at a coffee shop alone, officials say
The death of a nearly blind refugee in Buffalo, New York, days after Border Patrol agents left him alone in a coffee shop has sparked an investigation into the circumstances of his final days and sparked harsh criticism from state and local officials.
Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, who spoke little English, had been missing since Feb. 19, when agents left her at the store shortly after she was released from the Erie County jail, authorities said. Her body was found five days later, around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, about four miles from the cafe, the Buffalo Police Department said.
Dozens of people gathered at a local mosque for Shah Alam’s funeral on Thursday afternoon. They prayed and went to the cemetery to bury the father.
There are still many unanswered questions about Shah Alam’s death and what led to it.
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection spokesman said Border Patrol agents told Shah Alam “rather than being released directly from the Border Patrol station, he chose to accept a ride to a coffee shop near his last known address, determined to be a warm, safe place.”
“He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or impairment requiring special assistance,” CBP said.
Buffalo Police said “homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances and time period of events leading to his death following his release from custody.”
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan said Thursday that the Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office has not yet released full findings on the cause of death, although a city spokesman previously said the medical examiner performed an autopsy and determined Shah Alam’s cause of death was medically related. CNN appealed to the coroner to clarify the issue.
The Erie County Health Department previously told CNN that the Medical Examiner records are considered confidential medical records and will only be shared with law enforcement and others who have a legal right to those records.
“Border Patrol officers didn’t have a protocol for what to do with a disabled man who couldn’t speak English and was confused and lost. And you know what they did? They left him in a closed cafe. That’s why we’re not cooperating with ICE, Homeland Security and Border Patrol,” Ryan said.
Open WednesdayThe mayor said Shah Alam’s death was “preventable” and insisted CBP “provide answers as to how and why this happened.”
new York Congressman Tim Kennedy He also called for “a full and transparent investigation at the local, state, and federal levels.”
New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office was “reviewing our legal options,” according to the statement.
Incident reveals growing concerns about the constitution rights and treatment The number of people who came into contact with federal agents, regardless of their immigration status, during the Trump administration’s mass deportation efforts.
One year behind bars awaiting trial
Shah Alam, a refugee from Myanmar, spent most of the previous year in custody and was tried on criminal charges that were ultimately resolved with a misdemeanor plea deal, Erie County District Attorney Michael J. Keane told CNN on Thursday.
Imran Fazal, who knows the family, told CNN affiliate that Shah Alam previously worked in construction in Malaysia and came to the United States with his wife and two children, looking for opportunities. Spectrum News Buffalo. He said he couldn’t walk without a cane.
The Buffalo Legal Aid Bureau, which represents Shah Alam, said he had only been in the United States for a few months before his arrest.
One of his children told Reuters The arrest was the result of a misunderstanding with the police. His son, Mohammed Faisal, said Shah Alam had gone for a walk and got lost and wandered around private property while using a curtain rod as a walking stick. Shah Alam was arrested after he failed to understand officers’ orders to drop the staff.
Body camera video of the incident obtained by WGRZ shows Shah Alam walking through a courtyard with what appear to be two black poles. In the video, he is seen waving the poles at officers before firing stun guns. Shah Alam is then seized and handcuffed.
Two police officers were also injured, according to the police report. While taking Shah Alam into custody, the man bit the arm of one officer and the hand of another, the report said.
Shah Alam was being held on two counts of assault with intent to harm a police officer, possession of a weapon and trespassing, among other charges, before a plea deal was reached. police report.
The district attorney’s office said Shah Alam’s bail was changed to $5,000 cash or bond at his indictment hearing in June 2025, but he remained in custody because the case was postponed until the trial date.
Shah Alam pleaded guilty to misdemeanor charges in early February, agreeing with prosecutors and defense attorneys that he would remain in custody without bail until his sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 24, Keane said.
“In this matter, reduced disposition enabled the defendant to be appropriately held accountable for the offense whilst avoiding an unduly harsh and disproportionate sentence to the offence,” Keane said.
His family did not know where he was left
According to his lawyers, although Shah Alam is legally in the United States as a refugee, “due to the uncertainty in the current immigration environment, a strategic decision was made not to grant him bail out of fear that he would disappear into immigration custody.”
But the Buffalo Legal Aid Office later said that after consulting with another attorney, it was determined that Shah Alam’s family could post bail and he would not be deported.
Shah Alam was released from prison after it aired on February 19, Keane said.
In a statement from the Erie County Sheriff’s Office, it was stated that while Shah Alam’s evacuation process was continuing, deputies notified the US Border Patrol, which had previously held him in immigration detention.
“U.S. Border Patrol arrived at the Holding Center prior to the finalization of Mr. Shah Alam’s release from the custody of the Erie County Sheriff’s Office,” the statement said.
A spokesperson for CBP said agents later determined that Shah Alam entered the United States as a refugee on Dec. 24, 2024, and was “not eligible for deportation.”
Learning that Shah Alam was ineligible for deportation, Border Patrol agents attempted to contact him using a translator program; Shah Alam eventually asked to be taken back to where he was left, a federal law enforcement official said. The official said he was offered the opportunity to make a phone call but declined.
Mayor Ryan criticized a series of incidents by the Border Patrol and said there were ways to contact someone who could help Shah Alam. He said agents did not take him back to the holding center after it became clear he could not be removed from the country. There, Ryan said, they could get the phone numbers of his son or his lawyer, who were active visitors while he was in custody.
“This is bad policing, but it’s also bad people. This is inhumane,” he said.
Ryan said preliminary information indicates that Shah Alam had no shoes on at the detention center when he was dropped off by agents, only orange boots.
The day Shah Alam was dropped off at the cafe, the area saw light freezing rain and temperatures in the low 30s. There was snow and fog for the next two days; temperatures have hovered around freezing for at least 24 consecutive hours.
Neither his family nor his lawyer were informed by federal authorities that Shah Alam was dropped off at the coffee shop and that he did not read, write or use electronic devices, his son told Reuters. Additionally, Shah Alam’s lawyers said his family no longer lives in the area where the coffee shop is located.
Ryan said there was “confusion for several days” about Shah Alam’s whereabouts. The mayor said that when he wasn’t at the detention center, his family thought he was at an ICE detention center in Buffalo. Ryan said they later learned he had been released, which led many agencies and community groups to begin searching for him.
A missing persons report was filed by Shah Alam’s lawyer on February 22. The next day, a police report said a detective determined that Shah Alam was in federal custody and closed the investigation, but reopened it a few hours later when the detective realized that was no longer true.
On Feb. 24, law enforcement interviewed Shah Alam’s son, who said he had last seen his father five days earlier at the Erie County Holding Center, according to a police report. According to the document, detectives learned that Shah Alam had been dropped off at the cafe and searched the surrounding neighborhood.
Later that day, someone called 911 and said there was a man who didn’t appear to be breathing, according to the police report. The man, later identified as Shah Alam, was pronounced dead at the scene after first responders took life-saving measures.
“How can something like this happen here, in a place like the United States?” Khaleda Shah, a family friend, told CNN affiliate WKBW. “We don’t feel safe at all. The family doesn’t feel safe either. And we need to be here, especially in the City of Buffalo, the City of Good Neighbors.”
Faisal said the family were Arakan Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, referring to the stateless Muslim minority in Myanmar’s Rakhine state. Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled the war-torn country Since late 2016, following a brutal crackdown by the military junta that the US declared genocide.
Shah Alam just wanted to “eat home-cooked food” and “be one with the rest of his family,” Faisal told Reuters.
Keane said in a statement that his office first learned of Shah Alam’s release from prison on Tuesday and would move to dismiss the charges against the man after receiving his death certificate.
“I am saddened to learn of the tragic death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam,” Keane said. “As the investigation into his death continues, I recognize the desire for answers that his family, friends and our community are seeking.”
CNN’s Priscilla Alvarez and Taylor Romine contributed to this report.
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