BUFFALO, N.Y. — Buffalo police are investigating the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, whose body was found downtown five days after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off alone in a coffee shop parking lot, authorities said.
Shah Alam, who had limited vision and spoke little English, was released on Feb. 19 at a Tim Hortons parking lot miles from his Buffalo residence. He had just been released from the Erie County Holding Center, where he had spent nearly a year awaiting trial on criminal charges that were later resolved through a misdemeanor plea agreement.
His body was discovered on Feb. 24 near the KeyBank Center. The Buffalo Police Department has opened a homicide investigation to determine the circumstances surrounding his death. The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office has not released the cause of death.
Family members said they were not notified of Shah Alam’s release or his drop-off location and did not know where to look for him.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, a Democrat, criticized federal authorities, calling the decision to leave Shah Alam alone “unprofessional and inhumane” and saying the situation could have been prevented.
A Border Patrol spokesperson said agents dropped Shah Alam off at the coffee shop after determining he was not subject to deportation. The spokesperson said Shah Alam chose the location because it was near his last known address and described it as a “warm, safe” place. The agency said he showed no visible signs of distress or mobility impairment at the time.
Surveillance footage obtained and reviewed by The Washington Post shows Border Patrol agents releasing Shah Alam into the parking lot of a Tim Hortons in Buffalo on the night of Feb. 19, after the café had closed for the evening. The video, recorded after 8 p.m., shows Shah Alam exiting a van and walking through the lot before disappearing from view. Shah Alam was found dead five days later, about five miles from the site where agents left him.
Shah Alam arrived in the United States in December 2024 as part of a refugee resettlement program. He and his family are members of the Rohingya, a persecuted minority group from Myanmar.
New York officials, including U.S. Sens. Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, as well as Attorney General Letitia James, have called for a full review of federal authorities’ actions.
The investigation continues.
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