Nurul Amin Shah Alam: Negligent Homicide By Border Patrol
The death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam was negligent homicide by Customs and Border Protection.
Shah Alam was legitimately arrested by Buffalo police for an incident of trespass and assault last February. The incident may have been rooted in Shah Alam's lack of understanding of English and visual impairment, and the arrest may have used excessive force; but there was an actual act of trespass and he did swing sticks at cops. He seems to have been held by police rather than ROR'd or bailed out to avoid possible entanglements with ICE; but a plea deal allowed him to be released without immigration consequences, on February 19th.
But somehow Border Patrol was notified about him and picked him up upon release from jail. In the words of a CBP spox, they quickly “confirmed that Mr. Shah Alam entered the United States as a refugee…and was not amenable to removal.” Good so far — they properly understood that he should not be deported.
At this point CBP had him in custody. In taking him into custody they took responsibility for the well-being of a man who 1. did not speak English and 2. suffered a significant visual handicap. (He was, as far as I can figure out, legally blind in one eye and had limited vision in the other. Reports describing him as “blind” seem to be exaggerating, but he had a significant handicap.)
CBP claims that “Border Patrol agents offered him a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address”. But they dropped him off around 8pm. And this coffeeshop — a Tim Horton’s — had closed at 7pm, something anyone with a smartphone could have determined ahead of time, or anyone with vision better than Shah Alam’s would have noticed by looking at the place.
He was left alone six miles from the home he shared with his wife and kids, on a winter night in Buffalo, without even proper shoes. Neither his family nor his attorney were notified.
What happened to him in the hours and days after that is unknown. On February 25th he was found dead on the street.
CBP had a duty to care for him. They failed to do so, and he died as a result. That is negligent homicide.
Shah Alam is likely not the only case of negligent homicide. The ACLU noted all the way back in 2019 that at least seven children had either died in custody or detention by federal immigration agencies.