Border Patrol leaves near-blind Rohingya refugee in freezing Buffalo lot; death ruled homicide
On February 19, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents took Nurul Amin Shah Alam — a 56-year-old, nearly blind Rohingya refugee who spoke little English — from a county jail and released him alone outside a closed Tim Hortons in Buffalo, New York, in near-freezing cold. He was found dead five days later, and the Erie County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide caused by a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. DHS initially said agents had left him at a "safe location," but surveillance footage contradicted that account.
Actors
- U.S. Customs and Border Protection (Border Patrol)
- U.S. Department of Homeland Security
On February 19, 2026, U.S. Border Patrol agents took Nurul Amin Shah Alam — a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee who was nearly blind and spoke little English — from a county jail and released him alone outside a closed Tim Hortons in Buffalo, New York, in near-freezing cold and miles from his home. Five days later he was found dead.
The Erie County medical examiner ruled the death a homicide, attributing it to a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. The Department of Homeland Security initially said its agents had left him at a "safe location," but surveillance footage contradicted that account. House Judiciary Committee Democrats pressed DHS Secretary Noem for an explanation in a February 26 letter.
When the government takes a person into custody it assumes responsibility for that person's safety until they are released somewhere genuinely safe — a duty that grows heavier when the person is elderly, disabled, and unable to fend for themselves. A death tied to how federal immigration agents handled a detainee in their charge is recorded here so that the custodial harm is part of the public record.
Why we recorded this
When a government takes a person into custody, it assumes responsibility for that person's safety until they are released somewhere genuinely safe — a duty that grows heavier when the person is elderly, disabled, and unable to fend for themselves. Here, federal immigration agents took a nearly blind 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from a county jail and left him alone outside a closed business in near-freezing cold, miles from home; days later he was found dead, and a county medical examiner ruled the death a homicide. When someone the state has detained dies because of how the state handled them, accounting for that custodial harm is a precondition of any system that claims to use force lawfully and humanely. We record it so that a death tied to immigration-enforcement custody is part of the public record.
Sources
- Death of refugee found after being released by Border Patrol determined to be homicide — NBC News primary accessed June 13, 2026
- Letter to DHS Secretary Noem re: Nurul Amin Shah Alam case (Feb. 26, 2026) — U.S. House Judiciary Committee Democrats primary accessed June 13, 2026
- Death of nearly blind refugee left at Buffalo doughnut shop by Border Patrol is ruled a homicide — CNN secondary accessed June 13, 2026
- Footage Contradicts DHS Claim That It Dropped Blind Rohingya Refugee at 'Safe Location' — Common Dreams secondary accessed June 13, 2026
See also
- Detainees launch hunger strike over conditions at GEO Group-run Adelanto ICE complex
- ICE deports critically ill 2-month-old and family to Mexico after hospitalization
- ICE vehicle pursuit in Newark causes multi-vehicle crash, injuring three children
- AP investigation finds ICE detainees dying by suicide at an unprecedented rate
- Detainees sue ICE over conditions at Camp East Montana amid three deaths and a homicide ruling