The death of a nearly blind Myanmar refugee found on a Buffalo street in February, five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a donut shop, has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.
The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office has not reached any conclusion on responsibility for Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death, which the agency said was caused by complications from a perforated duodenal ulcer caused by hypothermia and dehydration. Ruling a death a homicide means the death was caused by an act or omission of another person, but does not necessarily mean a crime was committed.
“This should not have happened,” Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, said at a news conference Wednesday. Asked whether the Border Patrol was responsible for his death, he declined to comment and said any such decision would be left to law enforcement agencies.
State Attorney General Letitia James and Erie County District Attorney Mike Kean, both Democrats, noted Wednesday that their offices have been reviewing the case. Kean said in a statement that his office had asked Shah Alam for the full autopsy report but that it would be “inappropriate” to comment further.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection on Wednesday pointed to its previous statement that Shah Alam “did not show any signs of pain, difficulty moving, or a disability requiring special assistance” when agents delivered him to a Tim Hortons restaurant on February 19.
The Department of Homeland Security said in a social media post on February 27 that “this death has nothing to do with its parent agency, the Border Patrol,” and condemned news coverage of the case as “demonizing our law enforcement.”
Immigration advocates on Wednesday called for justice for Shah Alam, a member of the Muslim Rohingya minority. The group faces discrimination and oppression in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Alliance, said Shah Alam traveled to the United States to seek safety “only to have him die in the street,” and called for a criminal investigation into the actions of Border Patrol agents: “Everyone involved must be held accountable.”
Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly called for accountability for everyone involved and said her aides spoke with the district attorney Wednesday afternoon. Hochul, a Democrat and Buffalo native, lambasted the placement of a man who could barely see and speak English outside a then-closed restaurant as “cruel and inhumane.”
Customs and Border Protection said the restaurant was chosen as “a warm, safe location” near the last known address in Shah Alam.
Many details about the man’s health and final days have not been made public because his autopsy report is confidential under New York law.
But Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein told reporters Shah Alam developed what is commonly known as a pressure ulcer, which is caused by dehydration and exposure to the cold. The ulcer destroyed his intestinal wall, creating an often painful medical emergency that required rapid treatment, she said.
Shah Alam, 56, left Myanmar years ago for Malaysia, where he worked in construction. He came to the United States as refugees in December 2024 with his wife and two children, according to the family’s advocates.
Imran Fazal, who knew the family and founded an organization called Rohingya Empowered Communities, said Shah Alam’s death left people sad and scared.
“This tragedy was entirely avoidable and reflects a profound failure of a system designed to protect vulnerable people,” Fazal said on Wednesday.
Shah Alam spent about a year in the Erie County Jail on felony assault and other charges following a run-in with police in 2025, when officers found him carrying what appeared to be a curtain rod. Police said he bit two officers; supporters of his family said he did not understand police orders to throw away the items.
He eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser misdemeanor charges and was released from jail on February 19. Border Patrol then briefly detained him before determining he was ineligible for deportation. His family had been waiting for him to be released from prison, but they were not told about it.
Surveillance video obtained by the Enquirer showed Shah Alam wearing county-issued jail boots as he carefully walked through the Tim Hortons’ empty parking lot, pulling up his hood to protect against the cold, before walking into the night.
Shah Alam’s attorney finally reported his disappearance to Buffalo police on February 22.
He was found dead on February 24 near the downtown arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabers played. It’s unclear how he got there from a Tim Horton’s a few miles away, and Burstein said Wednesday that the exact time of his death could not be determined.
