DHS disputes homicide-ruled death of blind Myanmar refugee released by Border Patrol

Published April 2, 2026 11:49am ET



The Department of Homeland Security challenged the narrative that Border Patrol played a role in the recent death of a partially blind, non-English-speaking refugee from Myanmar in New York.

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, was found dead on Feb. 24 in Buffalo after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a closed Tim Hortons coffee shop five days earlier during the winter. The immigration agency briefly detained him at a local jail, where he spent about a year on felony charges. He pleaded guilty to two lesser misdemeanor charges prior to his release.

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