Buffalo mayor criticizes federal immigration authorities
CBP says Shah Alam did not show any distress when he fell at the cafe
Shah Alam’s family says a misunderstanding led to his arrest
By Jan Wolfe and Kristina Cooke
Feb. 25 – A nearly blind fugitive from Myanmar missing since he was released from a Buffalo prison into U.S. Border Patrol custody was found dead on a downtown street, city officials said Wednesday.
Police in upstate New York found the body of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, on Tuesday night, a Buffalo police spokesman said.
Shah Alam had been missing since Feb. 19, when U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a coffee shop a mile from his home after his release from the county jail, where he had spent much of the past year awaiting trial on felony charges that resulted in a misdemeanor plea deal.
Homicide detectives are investigating the circumstances of Shah Alam’s death, a spokeswoman said.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan, a Democrat, said in a statement Wednesday that Shah Alam’s death was preventable and the result of “inhumane” decision-making by federal immigration authorities.
“The 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 place,” Ryan said. “That decision by US Customs and Border Protection was unprofessional and inhumane.”
A CBP spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In a statement to the Investigative Post, a Buffalo-based news outlet, a CBP spokesman said agents dropped off Shah Alam at the cafe after agents determined he had entered the country as a fugitive and could not be deported.
“Border Patrol agents offered him a courtesy ride, which he decided to accept to the cafe because he was determined to be in a warm and safe place near his last known address rather than being released directly from the Border Patrol station,” the agency said. “He showed no signs of distress, mobility problems or disabilities requiring special assistance.”
Temperatures in Buffalo, a city near the Canadian border, were below freezing last weekend.
The Erie County District Attorney’s Office said Shah Alam was arrested a year ago after an incident that resulted in minor injuries to two Buffalo police officers. Shah Alam was released on bail this month after agreeing to a plea deal, the district attorney’s office said.
After Shah Alam’s arrest, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement issued an immigration detainer, a formal request to take a foreign national after his scheduled release from custody.
In response to that immigrant detainer, the Erie County Sheriff’s Office contacted the U.S. Border Patrol before Shah Alam was released, a sheriff’s office spokesman said.
Mohamad Faisal, one of Shah Alam’s children, said in a text message that his father’s arrest a year ago was due to a misunderstanding with the police.
Shah Alam, who did not speak English, was out for a walk and was using a curtain rod he bought as a walking stick, Faisal said.
Shah Alam got lost and walked onto the property of a Buffalo resident who called police, Faisal said. When Shah Alam did not understand police commands to drop the curtain rod, they arrested him, his son said.
After his release last week, “No one told me, my family or my lawyer where my dad was dropped off,” Faisal said.
Shah Alam did not read, write or use electronic devices, Faisal said.
Shah Alam only wanted to “eat home-cooked food” and “be united with the rest of the family,” Faisal said.
The family are Arakan Rohingya refugees, he said.
This article was generated from an automated news agency source without text modification.
