Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/AP) - The death of a nearly blind Burmese refugee, who disappeared after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons in Buffalo and was found dead five days later, has prompted several Western New York officials to seek more answers from federal officials.
56-year-old Nurul Amin Shah Alam was detained by Border Patrol agents on Feb. 19 after his release from the Erie County Holding Center, but was let go that same day after federal authorities determined he wasn't eligible for deportation.
The agents brought him to the Tim Hortons that's north of Buffalo's downtown and dropped him there, according to authorities and advocates. His family, which had initially expected him to walk out of jail, began searching for him after being informed of the drop-off and reported him missing.
Shah Alam was found dead Tuesday night near KeyBank Center downtown. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, or when he died.
The county medical examiner determined the cause of death was "health related in nature", and ruled out exposure or homicide, according to the Buffalo Police Department. Detectives were investigating the events leading up to his death, first reported by the Investigative Post.
During the days Shah Alam was missing, temperatures in Buffalo fell below freezing and light snow fell.
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Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan is among local officials seeking answers in this incident, and expresses frustration with the actions of federal agents, who he says "don't know what they're doing."
"A Border Patrol agent picked up this man from the Holding Center custody, drove him to an ICE facility, and the ICE facility said, 'We don't want this guy.' And then the Border Patrol officers had no protocol of what to do with a disabled man who doesn't speak English, who is confused and lost. And you know what they did? They dropped them at a closed coffee shop," said Ryan on Thursday. "That's why we do not cooperate with ICE, Homeland Security and Border Patrol."
Ryan issued an Executive Order a few weeks ago, saying city officials - including the Buffalo Police Department - will not interact or help the Department of Homeland Security in their civil immigration enforcement actions.
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It is unclear to Ryan, at this point, who bailed Shah Alam out of the Erie County Holding Center, but is hoping to have more answers provided to him from Erie County Sheriff John Garcia and Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane.
What Ryan does know is the Border Patrol agents didn't take him back to the Holding Center, where he feels staff there could have helped get Shah Alam in contact with his family.
"If they had taken him back to the Holding Center, the desk sergeant could have reviewed his visitor log and showed that his son was a regular visitor, here is his phone number. They could have showed that his lawyer was an active visitor, here's his phone number. And they could have showed that his immigration lawyer was an active visitor, and here's his phone number. There would have been ways to contact the family so you didn't leave somebody out in the cold," Ryan said.
According to preliminary information the mayor received, he said Shah Alam didn't have shoes on, but orange booties that were issued from the Holding Center. Not only does he say it's bad policing on part of the Border Patrol agents, but it's also bad human beings.
"That is an inhumane thing to do," Ryan said. "A Buffalo police officer, in this situation, would have taken this person to any of the various shelters in the City of Buffalo. They would have taken the steps to try to identify what's going on with this person. Remember, he doesn't speak English. He obviously has a disability, and he's blind. There was no way for him to convey to the border officers what he wanted to do. So they let him out of the car."
U.S. Customs and Border Protection defended its actions in a prepared statement on Wednesday:
“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. He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance.”
Ryan feels it is up to the federal government and CBP to further investigate this matter, but felt the statement put out was "full of conclusions of what their officers and what their department did, but they did it without an investigation."
Ryan adds his office has talked with local officials in Washington about this matter, and they continue to go back-and-forth as everyone attempts to get a handle on this.
"Under normal times, you could call into the officials who run Border Patrol and get answers. But these are not normal times. These are times where there are conclusions drawn without investigations, and this is what's happening here," Ryan added. "The Border Patrol issued a statement saying everything's OK, but there's no investigation. There's no release of files, there's no release of interviews."
"The family of Nurul Amin Shah Alam and our community deserve answers on the events that led to his death," said U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a statement. "I am deeply disturbed by reports that after taking him into custody, Border Patrol agents left Mr. Shah Alam at a Tim Hortons, miles from his home, without notifying his family or attorney before he was found dead. If true, this is absolutely unacceptable. The Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and local law enforcement must provide a full accounting of what has occurred and ensure this never happens again."
Congressman Tim Kennedy (NY-26) called the death of Shah Alam a "horrific and heartbreaking tragedy" in a statement on Wednesday.
"Mr. Alam should be alive and with his loved ones today. Instead, after days of fear and uncertainty, his family is now grieving an unimaginable loss," Kennedy said in his statement. "There must be a full and transparent investigation at the local, state, and federal levels. The public and Mr. Alam’s family deserve answers immediately."
Kennedy has since sent a formal request to New York State Attorney General Letitia James, seeking an investigation from her office into the death of Shah Alam. Her office is reviewing its legal options.
"Nurul Amin Shah Alam fled genocide and came to this country in search of safety and opportunity. Instead, his life was tragically cut short. No one who comes here seeking refuge should be left in harm’s way," James said in a prepared statement.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul has also released the following statement on the death of Shah Alam:
"A rogue deportation agenda is operating with zero transparency and even less accountability.
"Yesterday, a blind father was released from federal custody and left alone on the street to find his way home. He never made it back to his family. This morning, ICE agents misled campus security and took a young woman from her college dorm without a judicial warrant.
"No one should disappear at the hands of the government. No student should be taken from their dorm through deception. These incidents demand an independent investigation and real accountability. New York will not look the other way. If Washington won’t restore order and take action, New York will. We must act now and pass my comprehensive immigration legislation to keep New Yorkers safe."
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