Rohingya Death Ruled Homicide After Border Patrol Release

The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office ruled on April 1 that the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old nearly blind Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was a homicide, five days after U.S. Border Patrol agents released him on a frigid February night in Buffalo, New York.

Shah Alam died on February 24, 2026, about four miles from a Tim Hortons parking lot where agents had dropped him off around 8:18 p.m. on February 19. The medical examiner determined the cause as complications from a perforated duodenal ulcer, triggered by hypothermia and dehydration. The office clarified that the homicide classification indicates the death resulted from the actions or inactions of another person, such as negligence, but does not imply criminal intent or liability.

Shah Alam, who had limited vision and spoke no English, had resettled in Buffalo in December 2024 with his wife and two sons after fleeing persecution in Myanmar, where the Rohingya minority has faced decades of discrimination and violence. Three other sons and their families remained in Malaysia awaiting resettlement. Less than two months after arriving, on February 15, 2025, he was arrested in Buffalo's Black Rock neighborhood....