Erie County

Erie County, New York, is in the news due to the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old Rohingya refugee from Myanmar. Shah, who was nearly blind, was released from an Erie County holding center and subsequently abandoned by US border patrol agents at a Tim Hortons parking lot in Buffalo on February 19th. He was found dead five days later. The Erie County Medical Examiner's Office has ruled Shah's death a homicide. This incident has drawn attention to the treatment of refugees and the practices of border patrol agents in Erie County. The circumstances surrounding Shah's release and abandonment, particularly given his visual impairment and the cold weather conditions, are under scrutiny, raising concerns about the protocols and duty of care provided to vulnerable individuals released from custody in Erie County.