Lawmakers seek DHS records after Rohingya refugee’s death in Buffalo

Democratic lawmakers are demanding that the Department of Homeland Security cooperate with an investigation into the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee who was found dead in Buffalo, New York, five days after being released from federal custody. At a Friday press conference near the Tim Hortons coffee shop where Shah Alam was reportedly left, Representatives Tim Kennedy of New York, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Lou Correa of California and Nellie Pou of New Jersey called on DHS to provide records to the Erie County district attorney’s office. Shah Alam had significant vision loss and spoke little English. On February 19, after his release from the Erie County holding center, he was taken into the custody of US Border Patrol agents while relatives waited outside the jail to take him home. Agents later left him outside the closed coffee shop, according to the report. His family and attorneys were not told where he had been taken or where he had been released. He was found dead about four miles away five days later. In April, the Erie County medical examiner classified the death as a homicide, saying Shah Alam died from complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer brought on by hypothermia and dehydration. The district attorney’s investigation remains ongoing. New York Attorney General Letitia James opened a criminal investigation in March but closed it in August after US Customs and Border Protection declined to provide requested information, according to a letter obtained by Investigative Post. The requested material included the identities of the agents involved, custody and transport records, dispatch communications, vehicle-location data, body-camera footage and incident reports. The attorney general’s office referred the matter to the Erie County district attorney. On September 2, Kennedy and Thompson sent a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin demanding that the department comply with the county investigation. The lawmakers said they had received no meaningful response despite repeated oversight requests. Mullin had said during his March confirmation hearing that DHS was investigating Shah Alam’s death. Kennedy has also introduced legislation that would require immigration authorities to notify a detainee’s designated family member, attorney or other contact before release and to provide the release location.