Statement on the Murder of Nurul Amin Shah Alam by U.S. Customs and Border Patrol

The Lemkin Institute for Genocide Prevention and Human Security is horrified and deeply saddened by the death of Rohingya refugee Nurul Amin Shah Alam in Buffalo, New York. Mr. Shah Alam was nearly blind, spoke little English, and had been missing since February 19, 2026, when U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agents dropped him off at a coffee shop alone, in freezing weather, without shoes, and miles from his home after he was released from county jail. To make matters worse, according to Buffalo mayor Sean Ryan, the coffee shop was closed. Five days later, Mr. Shah Alam was found dead about four miles from the coffee shop.

The Lemkin Institute extends its deepest condolences to Mr. Shah Alam’s family and condemns the flagrant and criminal negligence and debased cruelty of CBP agents who abandoned him outside in freezing temperatures far from his home, resulting in his death. The death of Mr. Shah Alam is another example of the inhumane treatment and complete disregard for life exhibited by local, state, and federal agents who have carried out state-sanctioned violence and widespread terror and human rights abuses against Black and Brown communities across the United States.

Mr. Shah Alam was initially arrested by local police a year ago due to a misunderstanding. He had gotten lost on a walk and wandered onto a woman’s porch while carrying a curtain rod that he had been using as a walking stick due to his limited vision. Mr. Shah Alam did not understand when police ordered him in English to drop the curtain rod. Police then tasered, beat, and arrested him and held him in custody for a year under the draconian charges of assault, trespassing, and possession of a weapon (the curtain rod). On February 19th, Mr. Shah Alam was released from county jail after he pled to a misdemeanor. His family was waiting for him in the waiting room.

However, as Mr. Shah Alam’s release was being processed, local police apparently notified CBP due to an immigration detainer the agency had placed on him. Immigration detainers are used by federal immigration agents when they deem that there exists probable cause that a noncitizen qualifies for deportation. An immigration detainer requests that local law enforcement notify federal immigration agents when the person is being released and to hold the person for up to 48 hours past their scheduled release so federal agents can take them into custody. Local authorities called CBP despite the fact that Mr. Shah Alam’s lawyer had worked out a plea deal that specified that Alam could “clear” the detainer, be released, and avoid immigrant detention at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility.

CBP agents soon arrived at the holding center prior to the finalization of Mr. Shah Alam’s release and determined that Alam did not qualify for deportation due to his refugee status. Inexplicably, they removed him from the county jail and initially drove him to a nearby Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility, which refused to take him. According to a grotesque CBP statement, agents then offered Shah Alam “a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address, rather than be released directly from the Border Patrol station…He showed no signs of distress, mobility issues or disabilities requiring special assistance.” These claims are ridiculous given Shah Alam’s limited vision, limited English language capabilities, the coercive atmosphere in which the events were playing out, and the fact that the coffee shop was apparently closed. It’s unclear if Mr. Shah Alam was able to genuinely consent to any of what CBP claims. His family explained that he did not “read, write or use electronic devices” and that no one had attempted to notify the family or their attorney of Alam’s release or his whereabouts.

While the Erie County Medical Examiner deemed the official cause of Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s death to be health-related, it is clear that the complete disregard for his life demonstrated by local jail authorities and CBP agents is directly responsible for his death. CBP agents had Mr. Shah Alam’s last known address. His family was waiting for him at the county jail. Nevertheless, the agents actively made the choice to abandon a vulnerable, nearly-blind man in freezing temperatures without even attempting to notify anyone of his whereabouts. The injustice of Mr. Shah Alam’s treatment by CBP is compounded by the racist policing system in the U.S. that led to his initial arrest and year-long imprisonment as well as CBP’s eventual involvement in his case.

Mr. Shah Alam came to the United States in 2024 as a refugee from genocide in Myanmar. He, his wife, and his two sons are Rohingya, a group that continues to be targeted with genocide by the Myanmar military, called the Tatmadaw.

The inhumane treatment of Mr. Shah Alam by federal agents is part of a broader pattern of abuse committed by federal agents against Black and Brown communities during the Trump Administration’s mass deportation operations. These abuses include racial profiling, unlawful arrest, excessive use of force, extrajudicial killings, arbitrary detention, and denial of due process (see our previous Red Flag Alerts, statements, and Human Security Briefs for the U.S.). Deaths in federal immigration custody have significantly increased over the past year. There were 32 known deaths in 2025 and 6 deaths already in January 2026. The Trump Administration repeatedly uses dehumanizing language when referring to immigrants who, regardless of legal status, are painted as a threat to the U.S. Non-citizens are portrayed as worthless “criminals” who seek to defraud the U.S. government and to commit violence against its citizens. President Trump reiterated these false claims in his recent State of the Union Address.

The widespread disregard for the lives of noncitizens, particularly Black and Brown noncitizens, is evident in the rhetoric of the Administration and in the actions of federal agents, as in the case of Mr. Shah Alam, and raises further red flags of an unfolding genocidal process targeting Black and Brown communities in the U.S. that will continue to escalate if left unchecked.

By virtue of his fundamental Constitutional and human rights, Nurul Amin Shah Alam deserved humane and compassionate treatment and should be alive today. His death was enabled by both long-term racist policing against people of color in the United States and the rapid moral deterioration and barbarization we have seen in local, state and especially federal security agencies since the start of President Trump’s second term.

The involvement of CBP agents in Mr. Shah Alam’s death must be properly investigated and the agents involved must be held accountable. We applaud Buffalo Mayor Sean M. Ryan for calling CBP’s actions “unprofessional,” “inhumane,” and a “dereliction of duty.” We support voices calling for an independent investigation.

Federal agents must not be allowed to continue to endanger communities and act without oversight and with impunity. The intersection of abuses caused by Trump’s immigration crackdown and the U.S. racist policing system must be acknowledged and redressed. The Lemkin Institute continues to call for the dismantling of CBP in addition to ICE and the Department of Homeland Security. These agencies must also be investigated and held accountable for the mass human rights abuses they are committing across the country, which could amount to crimes against humanity and seem to be part of an unfolding genocidal process towards all “non-white” people.