The who was found on a Buffalo street in February 鈥� five days after Border Patrol agents 鈥� has been ruled a homicide, authorities said Wednesday.
The Erie County Medical Examiner’s Office didn’t reach any conclusions about responsibility for Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death, which the agency said was caused by complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer, precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration. Ruling a death a homicide means it resulted from another person’s actions 鈥� or inaction 鈥� but doesn’t necessarily mean that a crime was committed.
鈥淭his should not have happened,鈥� Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz, a Democrat, said at a news conference Wednesday. Asked whether the Border Patrol was responsible for his death, he declined to comment and said any such determination would be up to law enforcement agencies.
State Attorney General Letitia James and Erie County District Attorney Mike Keane, both Democrats, noted Wednesday that their offices have been reviewing the case. Keane said in a statement that his office had requested Shah Alam’s full autopsy report but 鈥渋t would be inappropriate鈥� to comment further.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection pointed Wednesday to its previous statement that Shah Alam 鈥渟howed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance鈥� when agents dropped him off Feb. 19 at a Tim Hortons restaurant.
鈥淭his death had NOTHING to do鈥� with Border Patrol, its parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, said in a Feb. 27 social media post, decrying news coverage of the case as an effort 鈥渢o demonize our law enforcement.鈥�
Immigrant advocates called Wednesday for justice for Shah Alam, a member of the Muslim . The group has faced discrimination and oppression in Buddhist-majority Myanmar.
Shah Alam sought safety in the U.S. and 鈥渋nstead, he was left to die in the street,鈥� New York Immigration Coalition President Murad Awawdeh said, calling for a criminal investigation into the Border Patrol agents鈥� conduct: 鈥淓very single person who was involved must be held responsible.鈥�
Gov. Kathy Hochul similarly called for accountability for everyone involved and said her aides spoke to the district attorney Wednesday afternoon. Hochul, a Democrat and Buffalo native, lambasted 鈥渢he cruelty and inhumanity鈥� of depositing a man who could barely see, or speak English, outside a then-closed restaurant.
Customs and Border Protection has said the restaurant was chosen as 鈥渁 warm, safe location鈥� near Shah Alam鈥檚 last known address.
Many details about the man’s health and final days aren’t publicly known, as his autopsy report is confidential under New York law.
But Erie County Health Commissioner Gale Burstein told reporters that Shah Alam developed what is commonly known as a stress ulcer, brought on in his case by dehydration and exposure to the cold. The ulcer breached his intestinal wall, creating what is generally a very painful medical emergency that needs rapid treatment, she said.
Shah Alam, 56, left Myanmar many years ago for Malaysia, where he worked in construction. He came to the U.S. as a refugee with his wife and two of his children in December 2024, according to advocates for the family.
Imran Fazal, who knows the family and founded a group called the Rohingya Empowerment Community, said Shah Alam’s death left people grieving and fearful.
鈥淭his tragedy was entirely preventable, and it reflects a serious failure in the systems meant to protect vulnerable people,” Fazal said Wednesday.
Shah Alam spent about a year in the Erie County jail on felony assault and other charges after a 2025 struggle with police who encountered him carrying what appeared to be curtain rods. Police said he bit two officers; advocates for his family said that he hadn’t understood officers鈥� commands to drop the items.
He eventually pleaded guilty to two lesser, misdemeanor charges and was released from jail Feb. 19. Border Patrol then briefly detained him before determining that he wasn’t eligible for deportation. His family, which had been awaiting his release from jail, wasn’t informed of it.
Surveillance video, obtained by , showed Shah Alam treading carefully through the Tim Hortons’ empty parking lot in his county-issued jail booties, pulling his hood up against the cold and walking off into the night.
Shah Alam鈥檚 lawyer ultimately reported him missing to Buffalo police on Feb. 22.
On Feb. 24, he was found dead near the downtown sports arena where the NHL鈥檚 Buffalo Sabres play. It was unclear how he got there from the Tim Hortons, several miles away, and Burstein said Wednesday that it was impossible to determine exactly when he died.
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