The death of a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar who was found on a Buffalo street in February—five days after Border Patrol agents left him at a doughnut shop—has been ruled a homicide, authorities announced on Wednesday.
The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office concluded that Nurul Amin Shah Alam's death resulted from complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, which were exacerbated by hypothermia and dehydration. The homicide ruling indicates that another person’s actions or inaction contributed to the death, but it does not imply that a crime was committed.
During a news conference, Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz expressed his condolences to Shah Alam’s family, stating, “This should not have happened.” The state attorney general’s office and the Erie County district attorney’s office are currently reviewing the case. Murad Awawdeh, president of the New York Immigration Coalition, is calling for a criminal investigation into the actions of the Border Patrol agents involved.
Awawdeh remarked, “Shah Alam sought safety in the U.S. and instead, he was left to die in the street. Every single person who was involved must be held responsible.”
Shah Alam, 56, a member of the Rohingya ethnic minority denied citizenship in Myanmar, had previously fled to Malaysia and worked in construction for many years. He arrived in the U.S. as a refugee in December 2024 with his wife and two children.
After a series of confrontations with police in 2025 that led to felony charges, Shah Alam spent approximately a year in jail, ultimately pleading guilty to lesser charges. His family was not informed when he was released from jail on February 19 and instead was briefly detained by Border Patrol, which later deemed him ineligible for deportation.
Shah Alam’s family reported him missing to law enforcement on February 22, leading to the grim discovery of his body just two days later near a downtown sports arena. Authorities are still investigating how he moved from the Tim Hortons to his final location, several miles away.
