Shocking Death Of Blind Refugee Rocks Upstate New York

He came here for a better life but met a tragic end after being left behind. The details of his final hours are haunting.

A blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol was found dead.

Buffalo Police Department

Nurul Amin Shah Alam, 56, who spoke little English and was nearly blind, was reported missing on Feb. 19 after agents left him, shortly after he was released from the Erie County jail.

Buffalo Mayor Sean Ryan says the nearly blind refugee was dropped off at a closed coffee shop without shoes.

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Alam was a Rohingya refugee who came to the United States legally to escape persecution by the government of Myanmar.

His dead body was found five days later, about four miles from the coffee shop, according to the Buffalo Police Department.

Buffalo Police Department/ Google

According to Buffalo's mayor, Alam wasn't wearing shoes but had on the orange booties issued to inmates at the holding center.

He was nearly blind, had mobility issues, and spoke almost no English when ICE agents left him alone outside a closed Tim Hortons.

Google

"A blind father was released from federal custody and left alone on the street to find his way home. He never made it back to his family," New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement, sent to Hudson Valley Post.

Alam had no phone, and even if he did, his family said he did not know his loved ones' phone numbers.

“No one should disappear at the hands of the government," Hochul added. "New York will not look the other way. If Washington won’t restore order and take action, New York will. We must act now and pass my comprehensive immigration legislation to keep New Yorkers safe.”