The Department of Homeland Security is facing new questions over a migrant’s death — this time a refugee here with legal status who died after Border Patrol agents left him at a coffee shop in Buffalo.
Nurul Amin Shah Alam was found dead Tuesday in temperatures well below freezing. The 56-year-old was reportedly nearly blind and did not speak English.
Congressional Democrats on Friday demanded DHS Secretary Kristi Noem launch an investigation, saying Shah Alam’s death signals something went wrong at the Border Patrol.
“The death of Mr. Shah Alam was entirely preventable. DHS has a moral and legal obligation to conduct a full and transparent investigation, in coordination with state and local officials, to ensure accountability, answer to the American people, and provide justice for the Shah Alam family,” wrote the Democrats, led by Rep. Tim Kennedy, the local congressman.
Mr. Kennedy had previously asked New York Attorney General Letitia James to investigate as well.
Homeland Security defended its agents.
The department said the agents responded on Feb. 19 to take custody of Shah Alam as he was about to be released from pretrial detention in a local case against him.
Agents determined that he was here as a refugee and was not deportable. They then had to figure out what to do with him.
“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,” the department said. “He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues or disabilities requiring special assistance.”
Buffalo’s mayor, though, said Shah Alam wasn’t even wearing shoes when he was released into the cold winter night, but had on booties from the jail.
Local media reported that coffee shop, a Tim Horton’s location, was closed at the time, though the drive-through window was open. It was also miles from the home address he gave, and that address was an old one. His family didn’t live there anymore.
A woman reported him to police on Feb. 24, five days after the Border Patrol dropped him off. The woman said she saw him moving at about 5:30 p.m., but when she passed by three hours later he was still on the ground and not moving.
His whereabouts from Feb. 19, when he was released from jail and then from Border Patrol custody, to Feb. 24 are unclear.
The congressional Democrats questioned the protocols of “courtesy rides” and wondered how it worked in this case, with a man who they said “was blind and barely spoke English” and could not read or write, nor use a phone.
The death follows two shooting slayings by DHS personnel in Minneapolis in January.
Ms. Noem is slated to be on Capitol Hill for hearings on Tuesday and Wednesday and will face questions over the deaths.
Shah Alam came to the U.S. in December 2024 as a refugee from Burma, where the Rohingya people have faced persecution.
Just months later, in February 2025, Buffalo police arrested him and charged him with felony assault. Police said he bit an officer who was trying to handcuff him.
Local prosecutors later offered him a plea deal on misdemeanor charges, in part because a felony would have meant he could be deported.
He pleaded guilty on Feb. 9 and was to be sentenced next month. Bond was posted on Feb. 19 and he was released to the Border Patrol, in compliance with a federal deportation “detainer” request.
The district attorney’s office said it had thought Shah Alam would be held until his sentencing.
• Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.
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