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Near-blind refugee found dead after release by US Border Patrol

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Reuters Wires

A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar missing since his release from a Buffalo jail into the custody of U.S. Border Patrol has been found dead on a downtown street, city authorities said on Wednesday (February 25).Police officers in the upstate New York city located the body of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, on Tuesday (February 24) evening, a Buffalo Police Department spokesperson said.Mourners gathered in Buffalo on Thursday (February 26) for Shah Alam&#x27;s funeral. Family friend Khaleda Shah said the 56-year-old was medically, culturally and socially vulnerable, describing him as blind, unable to speak English and unable to walk properly. &quot;We killed him,&quot; she said, calling his death &quot;disgusting&quot; and &quot;embarrassing,&quot; and demanding answers and a paper trail of what happened.Buffalo resident Tamara Rettino said she came to honor her &quot;slain murdered neighbor,&quot; calling the handling of the incident &quot;immoral&quot; and &quot;unethical.&quot;Community activist Mohammed Osman said, &quot;Our heart is bleeding now.&quot;Shah Alam had been missing since February 19, when U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a coffee shop miles from his home following his release from a county jail, where he had spent much of the last year awaiting trial on criminal charges that resulted in a misdemeanor plea deal.Homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances of Shah Alam&#x27;s death, the spokesperson said.Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, a Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday that Shah Alam&#x27;s death was preventable and the result of &quot;inhumane&quot; decision-making by federal immigration authorities.&quot;A vulnerable man − nearly blind and unable to speak English − was left alone on a cold winter night with no known attempt to leave him in a safe, secure location,&quot; Ryan said. &quot;That decision from U.S. Customs and Border Protection was unprofessional and inhumane.&quot;A CBP spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.In a statement to Investigative Post, a Buffalo-based news outlet, a CBP spokesperson said agents dropped Shah Alam off at a coffee shop after agents determined he had entered the country as a refugee and could not be deported.&quot;Border Patrol agents offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address, rather than be released directly from the Border Patrol station,&quot; the agency said. &quot;He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues or disabilities requiring special assistance.&quot;Temperatures in Buffalo, a city near the Canadian border, were below freezing last weekend.The Erie County District Attorney&#x27;s Office said Shah Alam was arrested a year ago following an incident that resulted in minor injuries to two Buffalo Police officers. Shah Alam was released on bail this month after he had agreed to a plea deal, the district attorney&#x27;s office said.Following Shah Alam&#x27;s arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer, a formal request to take custody of a noncitizen after his scheduled release from criminal detention.In response to that immigration detainer, the Erie County Sheriff&#x27;s Office contacted U.S. Border Patrol prior to Shah Alam&#x27;s release, a spokesperson for the sheriff&#x27;s office said.Mohamad Faisal, one of Shah Alam&#x27;s children, said in a text message that his father&#x27;s arrest a year ago was due to a misunderstanding with police officers.Shah Alam, who did not speak English, had been out for a walk and had been using a curtain rod he purchased as a walking stick, Faisal said.Shah Alam got lost and walked onto the property of a Buffalo resident who called the police, Faisal said. When Shah Alam did not understand police commands to drop his curtain rod, they arrested him, his son said.Upon his release last week, &quot;Nobody told me or my family or attorney where my dad was dropped off,&quot; Faisal said.Shah Alam did not read, write or use electronic devices, Faisal said.Shah Alam only wanted to &quot;eat home-cooked food&quot; and &quot;be united with the rest of [his] family,&quot; Faisal said.The family are Arakan Rohingya refugees, he said.<div>(Production: Kim Dillon, Roselle Chen)</div>

A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar missing since his release from a Buffalo jail into the custody of U.S. Border Patrol has been found dead on a downtown street, city authorities said on Wednesday (February 25).

A nearly blind refugee from Myanmar missing since his release from a Buffalo jail into the custody of U.S. Border Patrol has been found dead on a downtown street, city authorities said on Wednesday (February 25).

Near-blind refugee found dead after release by US Border Patrol

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Near-blind refugee found dead after release by US Border Patrol

Reuters

Published Feb 27, 2026 01:27 PM PHT

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Nurul Amin Shah Alam

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