On February 24th, the discovery of Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s body, a Rohingya refugee, sparked outrage in the United States over Donald Trump’s immigration policy. His body was found in a street in Buffalo, New York, near the Canadian border. The 56-year-old visually impaired man, apprehended by border patrol agents, was released miles away from his home after being held in a migrant detention center.
His death was ruled a homicide by local health authorities on Wednesday, according to AFP.
The medical examiner’s office in Erie County determined through investigation that Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death was due to complications from a perforated duodenal ulcer, worsened by hypothermia and dehydration, the county health department said in a statement. The death was classified as a homicide.
At the time of his discovery, local American media reported that the refugee, described as nearly blind and non-English speaking, had been dropped off five days earlier, in freezing weather, outside a restaurant in the city by border patrol agents. He was found dead about six kilometers away.
The family of Shah Alam was informed of the investigation’s conclusions, the county health department said. “When I received the call from the medical examiner, I felt paralyzed,” said Mohamad Faisal Nurul Amin, Shah’s son, as reported by The Guardian. “I felt nauseous. I couldn’t move. Someone told my mother, and she was devastated. I am still in shock,” he continued.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan called these findings “profoundly troubling” and referenced a “dereliction of duty” by immigration agents.
New York Attorney General Letitia James, who had launched an official investigation in early March, stated in a release, “Mr. Shah Alam fled genocide to build a life in this country. Instead, he was abandoned and left to his fate. No New Yorker should be treated in this way. My office continues its investigation into the circumstances and treatment that led to Mr. Shah Alam’s death.”
The Department of Homeland Security denounced “a sham” in response to Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death, stating that it “had nothing to do with border patrol” and characterizing the findings as “another hoax spread by the media and sanctuary city politicians to demonize our law enforcement.”
