Rohingya refugee left to die in parking lot

[Opinion. So they aren’t Brownshirts?]

Death of Rohingya refugee left in parking lot by US border agents ruled a homicide

Nurul Amin Shah, 56, who was visually impaired, was left outside Buffalo Tim Hortons on cold night and later died

Lok Darjee

The Guardian: 2 Apr 2026

Authorities have ruled that the death of Nurul Amin Shah, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar who was left by immigration agents at a restaurant in Buffalo, was a homicide.

Shah, who was visually impaired, died on 24 February, five days after US Border Patrol agents dropped him off in the parking lot of a Tim Hortons on a cold winter night without notifying his family or attorney.

In a statement, the Erie county medical examiner’s office said the cause of death was “complications of a perforated duodenal ulcer precipitated by hypothermia and dehydration”, and ruled the manner of death a homicide. The office said the final determination was made on 31 March.

In a statement, New York attorney general Letitia James, who opened a formal investigation earlier in March, said: “Mr Shah Alam fled genocide to build a life in this country. Instead, he was abandoned and left to suffer alone in his final hours.

“No New Yorker should be treated this way. My office is continuing our review of the circumstances and treatment that led to Mr Shah Alam’s death.”

Shah had resettled in Buffalo in December 2024 with his wife and two sons after fleeing decades of persecution in Myanmar. Three of his sons and their families remain in Malaysia, waiting to be resettled.

Less than two months later, on 15 February 2025, Shah was arrested.

According to his family, he had gone to a nearby Burmese grocery store and bought a few items, including a curtain rod he later used as a walking stick. Nearly blind and unable to speak English, he became disoriented on his way home and wandered into the Black Rock neighborhood of north-west Buffalo.

On 19 February, Erie county authorities transferred Shah to Border Patrol custody. Shah was held for several hours before agents dropped him at a Tim Hortons parking lot at about 8.18pm without informing his family or lawyer. Five days later, he was found dead about four miles from where he had been left.