DHS Delivers Snark After Video Contradicts Story On Disabled Refugee Who Died

The Department of Homeland Security doubled down Friday on its insistence that officers did nothing wrong in their handling of a disabled man whose frozen body was found several days after his release from DHS custody.

The case raised alarm after surveillance footage obtained by the Buffalo, New York-based news nonprofit Investigative Post showed Border Patrol agents abandoning Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind Burmese refugee, days before he was found dead on Tuesday, undercutting the government’s claims about its treatment of the man.

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Shah Alam, 56, was released from Erie County Holding Center on Feb. 19, having spent most of the past year awaiting trial on criminal charges before ultimately taking a plea deal. Border Patrol then took him into custody on an immigration detainer. But they soon realized he wasn’t eligible for deportation.

That same night, agents left Shah Alam — who did not speak English — at a Tim Hortons coffee shop and drove away in a white van, the video shows. Shah Alam is blind in one eye and has blurry vision in the other.

Over the last two days, DHS has been using its X account to reply to numerous posts criticizing the agents for leaving him in a cold parking lot.

“Here are the FACTS,” DHS said. The department said Border Patrol agents gave the man a “courtesy ride” to the coffee shop, which was “determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address,” and that he “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance.”

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The Tim Hortons was five miles away from Shah Alam’s family home, the Investigative Post said.

DHS said in another social media post that the ride “did not have to be provided.”

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“Would the Washington Post have rather us force him to find transportation from the station after his arrest by local police?” DHS said in response to a Washington Post news article on the incident.

Shah Alam’s family had reportedly been in frequent contact with him while he was in the custody of local police.

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Family and friends had circulated a missing person flyer noting that he “has back problems, difficulty walking, and is in poor health.”

“He is not able to use a phone and does not know phone numbers or addresses,” the flyer read.

The Tim Horton’s was also closed, except for the drive-thru window, the Investigative Post reported, and temperatures were below freezing.

In the security video, Shah Alam can be seen putting his hood up and looking inside, then pacing back and forth before walking away.

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The agents had failed to notify his family about his release.

“Nobody told me or my family or attorney where my dad was dropped off,” Mohamad Faisal, one of his children, told Reuters.

Shah Alam was found dead five days later, on Tuesday, near KeyBank Center, a sports arena. It’s unclear how he managed to get there or exactly when he died, The Associated Press noted.

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His cause of death remains under investigation. While the Buffalo Police Department initially said the medical examiner found his death was “health-related,” the Erie County Department of Health later said no final determination had been made.

A spokesperson for Shah Alam’s family said the family does “not want his death to just go to waste.”

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“We want his death to bring awareness to his community, his family, his community at large. We want his name, his story to be a voice for those who are still suffering,” Khaleda Shah said during the man’s funeral, according to AP.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called for an “immediate independent investigation.”

“Border Patrol took a nearly blind father, barely able to communicate, and seemingly abandoned him in the cold far from his home without telling his loved ones. My heart breaks for Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s family,” Schumer said in a social media post. “He should be alive — and this should have never happened. Alam’s family deserves answers from ICE and CBP and we must have an immediate independent investigation.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) echoed Schumer, saying, “New Yorkers deserve answers and accountability.”

Buffalo police arrested Shah Alam last year after he ended up on a woman’s porch during a walk, and allegedly did not drop a curtain rod that he was using as a walking stick. The police report claimed that Shah Alam caused the officers minor injuries.

One officer claimed that Shah Alam intended to hurt police, an accusation disputed by Shah Alam’s attorney, who told the Investigative Post his client was just startled in the moment.

The case raises fresh concerns about the actions of federal immigration agents amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort.

Faced with criticism, DHS under Trump has often doubled down on its self-defense, even after video evidence clearly contradicts their version of events.