DHS Delivers Snark After Video Contradicts Story On Disabled Refugee Who Died | EUROtoday

The Department of Homeland Security doubled down Friday on its insistence that officers did nothing flawed of their dealing with of a disabled man whose frozen physique was discovered a number of days after his launch from DHS custody.

The case raised alarm after surveillance footage obtained by the Buffalo, New York-based information nonprofit Investigative Post confirmed Border Patrol brokers abandoning Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a virtually blind Burmese refugee, days earlier than he was discovered useless on Tuesdayundercutting the federal government’s claims about its therapy of the person.

Shah Alam, 56, was launched from Erie County Holding Center on Feb. 19, having spent a lot of the previous 12 months awaiting trial on felony fees earlier than finally taking a plea deal. Border Patrol then took him into custody on an immigration detainer. But they quickly realized he wasn’t eligible for deportation.

That identical night time, brokers left Shah Alam — who didn’t communicate English — at a Tim Hortons espresso store and drove away in a white van, the video exhibits. Shah Alam is blind in a single eye and has blurry imaginative and prescient within the different.

Over the final two days, DHS has been utilizing its X account to answer to quite a few posts criticizing the brokers for leaving him in a chilly parking zone.

“Here are the FACTS,” DHS mentioned. The division mentioned Border Patrol brokers gave the person a “courtesy ride” to the espresso store, which was “determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address,” and that he “showed no signs of distress, mobility issues, or disabilities requiring special assistance.”

The Tim Hortons was 5 miles away from Shah Alam’s household house, the Investigative Post mentioned.

DHS mentioned in one other social media submit that the experience “did not have to be provided.”

“Would the Washington Post have rather us force him to find transportation from the station after his arrest by local police?” DHS mentioned in response to a Washington Post information article on the incident.

Shah Alam’s household had reportedly been in frequent contact with him whereas he was within the custody of native police.

Family and buddies had circulated a lacking individual flyer noting that he “has back problems, difficulty walking, and is in poor health.”

“He is not able to use a phone and does not know phone numbers or addresses,” the flyer learn.

The Tim Horton’s was additionally closed, apart from the drive-thru window, the Investigative Post reported, and temperatures had been under freezing.

In the safety video, Shah Alam might be seen placing his hood up and looking out inside, then pacing forwards and backwards earlier than strolling away.

The brokers had did not notify his household about his launch.

“Nobody told me or my family or attorney where my dad was dropped off,” Mohamad Faisal, certainly one of his kids, advised Reuters.

Shah Alam was discovered useless 5 days later, on Tuesday, close to KeyBank Center, a sports activities enviornment. It’s unclear how he managed to get there or precisely when he died, The Associated Press famous.

His reason for dying stays underneath investigation. While the Buffalo Police Department initially mentioned the medical expert discovered his dying was “health-related,” the Erie County Department of Health later mentioned no closing willpower had been made.

A spokesperson for Shah Alam’s household mentioned the household does “not want his death to just go to waste.”

“We want his death to bring awareness to his community, his family, his community at large. We want his name, his story to be a voice for those who are still suffering,” Khaleda Shah mentioned through the man’s funeral, in accordance with AP.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) known as for an “immediate independent investigation.”

“Border Patrol took a nearly blind father, barely able to communicate, and seemingly abandoned him in the cold far from his home without telling his loved ones. My heart breaks for Nurul Amin Shah Alam’s family,” Schumer mentioned in a social media submit. “He should be alive — and this should have never happened. Alam’s family deserves answers from ICE and CBP and we must have an immediate independent investigation.”

Gov. Kathy Hochul (D) echoed Schumer, saying, “New Yorkers deserve answers and accountability.”

Buffalo police arrested Shah Alam final 12 months after he ended up on a girl’s porch throughout a stroll, and allegedly didn’t drop a curtain rod that he was utilizing as a strolling stick. The police report claimed that Shah Alam brought on the officers minor accidents.

One officer claimed that Shah Alam meant to harm police, an accusation disputed by Shah Alam’s lawyer, who advised the Investigative Post his shopper was simply startled within the second.

The case raises recent considerations concerning the actions of federal immigration brokers amid the Trump administration’s mass deportation effort.

Faced with criticism, DHS underneath Trump has usually doubled down on its self-defense, even after video proof clearly contradicts their model of occasions.