Surveillance footage contradicts claims by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that Border Patrol agents left Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old nearly blind Rohingya refugee, at a “warm, safe location” after his release from jail last week. Shah Alam was later found dead on a Buffalo street, prompting questions about the agency’s handling of vulnerable individuals.
The video, obtained by the Buffalo-based Investigative Post and published Wednesday, shows a white van pulling up to a Tim Hortons donut shop at approximately 8:18 p.m. Eastern time on February 19, 2026 – more than an hour after the store, excluding the drive-thru, had closed for the night. Footage of the incident shows a man identified as Shah Alam exiting the van, approaching the locked entrance, and then walking across the parking lot.
DHS initially stated that agents had provided Shah Alam with a “courtesy ride” to the Tim Hortons, which they had determined to be a safe location near his last known address. However, the footage raises serious doubts about this assertion. According to the Investigative Post, Shah Alam, who was nearly blind and spoke limited English, was left at the closed establishment with no apparent assistance.
Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan told the Investigative Post that Border Patrol should have returned Shah Alam to the Erie County Holding Center, where sheriff’s deputies were familiar with his case and could have contacted his family. “The lawyer was not informed, and the family is just saying, ‘You had our contact information, you had our address,’” said Khaleda Shah, a family friend, to the Investigative Post. “Why not drop him at the address that’s on file for him? Why not bring you back to the holding center, rather than Tim Hortons?”
Shah Alam had been detained at the Erie County Holding Center since February 2025 after being found with a curtain rod, which police initially reported as being “swung in a menacing manner.” Newsweek reported that Shah Alam pleaded guilty to trespassing and possession of a weapon (the curtain rod) to avoid immigration detention, despite a detainer having been issued by Border Patrol.
The circumstances surrounding Shah Alam’s death have drawn criticism from refugee advocates. Jeremy Konyndyk, president of Refugees International, stated, “So when [the Department of Homeland Security] says they ‘offered him a courtesy ride to a warm, safe location’… they mean they abandoned him in the parking lot of a closed Tim Hortons in the middle of a winter evening in Buffalo.” He added, “They lie about EVERYTHING.”
Daniel P. Sullivan, Refugees International’s director for Africa, Asia, and the Middle East, noted that the U.S. Government determined in 2022 that the Myanmar military had committed genocide against the Rohingya people. Shah Alam had been resettled in the U.S. After surviving the violence and persecution. Sullivan connected Shah Alam’s death to broader concerns about immigration enforcement practices, stating that it occurred “in the midst of ongoing violent immigration enforcement operations… that have led to widespread abuse and neglect.”
The Department of Homeland Security has not publicly responded to the release of the surveillance footage or the growing criticism. CNN reported that activists gathered Thursday in Buffalo following Shah Alam’s death, calling for investigations into the actions of Border Patrol agents. The Buffalo Police Department is investigating the case, and the circumstances surrounding Shah Alam’s release and subsequent death remain under scrutiny.
