Four lawmakers seek DHS records in Shah Alam death inquiry

James closed criminal probe after CBP declined to share records

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee who was nearly blind and spoke little English, was released from the Erie county holding center in Buffalo on February 19 after border patrol agents took him into custody rather than releasing him to relatives waiting outside the facility. Hours later, agents left him outside a closed Tim Hortons coffee shop. Neither his family nor his attorneys were told where he had been taken or where agents had dropped him off.

Five days later, Shah Alam’s body was found about four miles from the coffee shop. In April, the Erie county medical examiner determined he died from complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration, and classified the death a homicide. The Erie county district attorney’s office is continuing to investigate the circumstances of his death.

In March, New York Attorney General Letitia James opened a formal investigation into the death and requested that US Customs and Border Protection identify the agents who had “retrieved and released Mr Shah Alam,” according to a letter obtained by Investigative Post. The request sought records related to the detainer, transport, custody, dispatch communications, GPS and vehicle data, body-worn camera footage, and incident reports. CBP declined to share any of the information.

James closed her criminal investigation in August, citing CBP’s refusal to cooperate, and referred the matter to the Erie county district attorney.

At a Friday press conference in Buffalo held a few feet from where Shah Alam’s body was recovered, Reps. Tim Kennedy of New York, Bennie Thompson of Mississippi, Lou Correa of California and Nellie Pou of New Jersey urged DHS to turn over records to the district attorney’s office. “DHS still won’t hand over a single meaningful record,” Kennedy said. “Not to my office, not to attorney general [Tish] James, and not to the Erie county district attorney. Simply put, they are obstructing the pursuit of justice by local law enforcement.”

Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House homeland security committee, added: “If DHS has nothing to hide, then they need to turn over the records and cooperate fully with the Erie County law enforcement. It is that simple.”

Kennedy has pursued a legislative response as well. In June he introduced the DHS Release Transparency Act, which would require immigration authorities to notify a detainee’s designated family member, attorney, or other contact before the person is released and to provide information about where the individual is being released.

On September 2, Kennedy and Thompson sent a formal letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, who said during his confirmation hearing in March that the department was investigating Shah Alam’s death. The lawmakers wrote that six months after the death, they had not received “a single meaningful or substantive response” from DHS despite multiple oversight letters.

Kennedy said Shah Alam’s family deserves to see justice served. “I won’t stop demanding it until DHS complies,” he said.