A refugee from Myanmar, who was nearly blind and had been missing after being released from a jail in Buffalo, New York, has been discovered dead on a street in the city, according to local authorities. Police in Buffalo found the body of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, aged 56, on Tuesday evening. Shah Alam had vanished on February 19 after U.S. Border Patrol agents left him at a coffee shop several kilometers away from his residence upon his release from a county jail, where he had been awaiting trial on criminal charges.
The circumstances surrounding Shah Alam’s death are currently under investigation by homicide detectives, as stated by a Buffalo Police Department spokesperson. Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan criticized the actions of federal immigration authorities, calling Shah Alam’s death preventable and attributing it to what he described as “inhumane” decision-making.
Regarding the incident, a spokesperson from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) mentioned that Shah Alam was dropped off at a coffee shop as he could not be deported since he had entered the country as a refugee. The CBP spokesperson defended the decision, stating that Shah Alam did not exhibit signs of distress or require special assistance, and the agents offered him a courtesy ride to a nearby coffee shop for warmth and safety.
Shah Alam had been arrested a year ago after an altercation that resulted in minor injuries to two Buffalo police officers. Following a plea deal, he was released on bail this month. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement had issued an immigration detainer against Shah Alam, prompting the Erie County Sheriff’s Office to inform U.S. Border Patrol before his release.
Shah Alam’s son, Mohamad Faisal, explained that his father’s arrest stemmed from a misunderstanding with the police due to a language barrier. Faisal mentioned that Shah Alam, who did not speak English, had been using a curtain rod as a walking aid and was arrested when he failed to understand police instructions to drop it.
Upon Shah Alam’s release, his family was not informed of his whereabouts, a common practice as confirmed by a local immigration lawyer. The CBP indicated that Shah Alam entered the U.S. as a refugee in late 2024. The family belongs to the Arakan Rohingya refugee community. Myanmar has faced allegations of genocide following a military operation in 2017 that displaced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya people. Many Rohingya refugees have been living in challenging conditions in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, exacerbated by cuts in humanitarian aid.