“DHS is lying,” Schumer says — DHS fires back with “Here are the FACTS” on Buffalo refugee death

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer accused the Department of Homeland Security on Thursday of lying about the circumstances surrounding the death of a nearly blind refugee who was found dead in Buffalo days after U.S. Border Patrol agents dropped him off alone at a Tim Hortons on a cold night.

Schumer posted that Border Patrol “abandoned” a nearly blind man who did not speak English and said the agency’s public account was false, urging viewers to watch surveillance video from the night the man was left outside the closed business.

The man, Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, a Rohingya refugee from Myanmar, was found dead five days after his release from custody and drop-off at the coffee shop, according to the Associated Press. His family said they were not told where he had been taken and reported him missing days later.

Federal officials have defended their actions. In a social media post titled “Here are the FACTS,” DHS said Buffalo police alerted Border Patrol on Feb. 19 about a non-citizen in custody, and agents confirmed Shah Alam entered the United States as a refugedwqae on Dec. 24, 2024, and was not subject to removal. DHS said agents offered him a “courtesy ride,” which he accepted, and that they dropped him at a coffee shop they described as a warm, safe location near his last known address, adding that he showed no signs of distress or disability requiring special assistance.

Local officials and advocates have disputed that characterization. AP reported Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan called the handling of Shah Alam’s release a “dereliction of duty,” citing his vulnerability, language barrier and the winter conditions, and authorities said an investigation is underway into the circumstances leading up to his death.

The case has also drawn attention beyond Buffalo. The Washington Post reported that surveillance footage appeared to show Shah Alam wandering away from the empty plaza after being left at the closed Tim Hortons and that state officials, including Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James, called his death preventable and urged accountability.

The Erie County medical examiner has not publicly released a cause of death, and investigators have not said whether foul play is suspected.