Blind refugee found dead in New York after being released by immigration authorities

A nearly-blind, non-English-speaking refugee from Myanmar has been found dead in upstate New York after being released from federal immigration custody.

Nurul Amin Shah Alam was found dead on Tuesday, days after US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) dropped him off at a coffee shop miles from his home in Buffalo, where temperatures have been below freezing.

Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan called Shah Alam’s death “deeply disturbing” and called for an investigation.

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees CBP, said the man had accepted a courtesy ride to the shop and showed “no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance” when he was dropped off.

The department said that the coffee shop was closer to his home compared to being released “directly from the Border Patrol station” and it was determined to be “a warm, safe location”.

The Washington Post posted a video from outside the Tim Horton’s coffee shop where he is thought to have been dropped off. It is date-stamped 19 February appears to show Shah Alam walking by and not going inside. The Washington Post reported it was recorded after the restaurant had closed.

The shop closes at 19:00 local time, according to its posted hours. Weather reports from that night show the temperature was forecast around 36F (2.2C)

Shah Alam’s cause of death has not been made public and the Buffalo Police Department is investigating what happened to the 56-year-old.

He was found dead on 24 February, nearly 6mi (9.7km) from the coffee shop, according to Buffalo police.

A passerby called 911 to report seeing a man wearing khaki pants and a dark parka who did not appear to be moving or breathing, although he had been moving when she had walked by three hours earlier, police said.

Before his death, Shah Alam had been in local police custody for nearly a year on assault and weapons charges related to an incident in which two police officers were injured, according to police. He had been released on bail after reaching a plea deal, according to local media reports.

US immigration authorities had placed a detainer on him as part of that case, which is a request for someone who is a non-US citizen to be taken into their custody should they be released.

According to a timeline provided by the Buffalo Police Department, Shah Alam’s lawyer reported him missing on 22 February, saying he had been released to federal authorities on 19 February and had no identification. Shah Alam’s son told police he believed his father had been held by federal authorities starting 19 February.

Reuters reported that CBP released him from their custody after finding he entered the US as a refugee and could not be deported legally.

Shah Alam’s family has said they weren’t notified of when or where Shah Alam had been dropped off.

The BBC has contacted the CBP for comment.

In a news conference, Mayor Ryan said that Border Patrol, DHS and Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) “don’t know what they’re doing” and offered a blistering summary of what happened to the refugee, who reportedly entered the US in December 2024.

“The Border Patrol officers had no protocol of what to do with the disabled man who doesn’t speak English, who is confused and lost,” he said. “And you know what they did? They dropped him at a closed coffee shop.”

One of Shah Alam’s children, Mohamad Faisal, said in a text message to Reuters that their family was not notified about his release at the coffee shop.

“Nobody told me or my family or attorney where my dad was dropped off,” Faisal told Reuters.

He said his father’s arrest last year was due to a misunderstanding with police officers. His father, he said, had been out for a walk and was using a curtain rod as a walking stick. When Shah Alam got lost and walked onto the property of a Buffalo resident, they called the police.

Shah Alam, who doesn’t speak English, could not understand police commands to drop the curtain rod and he was arrested, Faisal said.

Video from body-worn cameras released by Buffalo police shows the man holding two black rods when officers appear, and repeatedly saying “sorry.” When he does not drop the rods after repeated requests to do so, the officer deploy tasers, and he walks forward swinging the rods until one officer wrestles him to the ground.

Shah Alam was excited to come back to his son’s house to “eat home-cooked food” and “be united with the rest of [his] family,” Faisal said.

The family are Arakan Rohingya refugees, he added.

Local officials are now asking for an investigation into Shah Alam’s death.

New York Attorney General Letitia James said her office is “reviewing our legal options”.

“Nurul Amin Shah Alam fled genocide and came to this country in search of safety and opportunity,” she said in a statement. “Instead, his life was tragically cut short. No one who comes here seeking refuge should be left in harm’s way.”

By BBC News