Border Patrol agents released Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind refugee from Myanmar, at a Tim Hortons in Buffalo, New York, and he was later found dead after walking through a parking lot days afterward, AP reported, citing video and officials’ statements.
According to the report, video footage obtained by the nonprofit Investigative Post shows Shah Alam, 56, stepping gingerly through an empty Buffalo parking lot after agents dropped him off. The footage shows him in county-issued jail booties, walking past a drive-thru window and then pacing away into the night. Five nights later, Shah Alam was found dead in the street outside the arena where the NHL’s Buffalo Sabres play, after a woman called 911 to report his body lying in the sidewalk.
AP said it was unclear how Shah Alam got from the restaurant several miles away to the downtown spot where police found him. Buffalo police said they were reviewing footage across the city to identify where he went, while the county medical examiner investigated the cause of death.
The report said U.S. Customs and Border Protection defended the release, saying agents chose “a warm, safe location” for the drop off. The agency also said agents offered Shah Alam “a courtesy ride” to a location near where his family had once lived, and that he accepted the ride and showed no signs of distress or disability. AP said the agency did not respond to an email seeking comment.
AP reported that Shah Alam’s family and attorney did not know where he was after his release. Benjamin Macaluso, a lawyer with the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, reported Shah Alam missing Sunday. The report said that by then, the family knew he had been released from jail but did not know his whereabouts; Macaluso went to an area immigration detention center, visited hospitals and homeless shelters, searched the neighborhood where the family lived previously, and distributed missing-persons posters. AP said it was not until Monday that he learned that Shah Alam had been dropped off at the Tim Hortons.
The AP report said the release occurred after Shah Alam left a county jail where he had been held for about a year. AP said Shah Alam had been released from the Erie County Holding Center on Feb. 19 after posting bond, and that the county sheriff’s office informed U.S. Border Patrol about his pending release because of an immigration detainer. AP also reported that federal authorities determined he was not eligible for deportation, leading to the Tim Hortons drop off that night.
AP tied the case to an earlier encounter that resulted in Shah Alam being jailed for a year. The report said Buffalo police released body-camera footage of the 2025 incident that led to his arrest, in which police officers approached Shah Alam in a snowy backyard as he held what appeared to be two curtain rods. AP said police body-camera footage included officers shouting “What are you doing?” and “Put it down” multiple times, and described Shah Alam as dressed in a hoodie and walking toward the officers while occasionally holding out his hand.
AP reported that advocates for the family said Shah Alam wandered onto the wrong property and did not understand officers’ commands because he spoke little English. Police said Shah Alam was tased and taken to the ground during a struggle, and AP reported that one officer said “I’m going to shoot you, dude” before firing Tasers, with police also saying Shah Alam bit two officers. AP said he was initially charged with felony assault, burglary and criminal mischief, and that a federal immigration detainer was issued after his arrest.
The AP report said Shah Alam was later released from jail after posting bond, after lawyers made what AP described as a “strategic decision” not to post bail initially out of fears he would be taken into immigration custody. AP said the decision changed after advice once Shah Alam pleaded guilty Feb. 9 to two lesser misdemeanor charges. In the run-up to his release, AP said Shah Alam was newly arrived in Buffalo and had limited vision, including being blind in one eye and having very limited vision in the other.
AP said a correction was issued to reflect that Shah Alam was reported missing Sunday, not Saturday.