Articles for J. Dale Shoemaker

Mar 6

2026

New York AG investigating Shah Alam’s death

New York Attorney General Letitia James. Photo via WKBW. New York State Attorney General Letitia James has opened an investigation into the death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, the nearly-blind Rohingya refugee found dead last week, Investigative Post has learned. Specifically, James’ office appears to be investigating the role of the Erie County Sheriff Office, which held Shah Alam at the Erie County Holding Center for more than a year before handing him over to U.S. Border Patrol five days before his death. James outlined the initial scope of her inquiry in a letter to Rep. Tim Kennedy, who requested[...]

Posted 2 days ago

Mar 5

2026

Congress questions Noem about Buffalo refugee death

Reps. Jerry Nadler (left) and Jamie Raskin (right), and DHS Secretary Kristi Noem (center). Images via YouTube. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem on Wednesday indicated her agency was reviewing the case of Nurul Amin Shah Alam but would not commit to opening or cooperating with any additional probes into his death, as lawmakers have called for. At a House Judiciary Committee oversight hearing Wednesday, Rep. Jerry Nadler (D-Manhattan) questioned Noem about several recent incidents involving ICE and Border Patrol, including the arrest of a Columbia student and the death of Shah Alam. Shah Alam, a nearly-blind Rohingya refugee,[...]

Posted 4 days ago

Mar 4

2026

New Trump policy threatens Buffalo refugees

One day before U.S. Border Patrol agents abandoned a nearly-blind Rohingya man at a closed coffee shop in Buffalo, the Trump administration unveiled new rules putting hundreds more refugees like him in Buffalo at risk of ICE detention. Those new rules say that any refugee who has lived in the United States for more than one year and who has not yet applied for a green card can be detained. But here’s the catch. Refugees must be physically present in the country for at least a year before the federal government allows them to submit an application for permanent residence.[...]

Posted 5 days ago

Feb 28

2026

Shah Alam’s family speaks of their loss

Khaleda Shah, right, comforts Fatimah Abdul Roshid, center, wife of Nurul Shah Alam, along with her son, Mohamad Faisal Nurul Amin, left. Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker. Last Thursday — the day that Nurul Amin Shah Alam was set to be released from jail — his son, friends of the family and other supporters waited for hours outside the Erie County Holding Center. His wife, Fatimah Abdul Roshid, had prepared a meal for the family at their Broadway-Fillmore apartment for Iftar, the breaking of the daily Ramadan fast. “We were ready with food, clothing, everything,” she said. “We thought he[...]

Posted 1 week ago

Feb 26

2026

Calls for investigation into refugee’s death

Investigative Post’s J. Dale Shoemaker discusses his reporting on MS Now. Story last updated Thursday at 4:20 p.m. U.S. Congressional leaders and others across New York are demanding investigations into U.S. Border Patrol following the Tuesday death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind Rohingya refugee who was found dead in downtown Buffalo days after being abandoned by agents at a doughnut shop miles from his home. After being released from the Erie County Holding Center last Thursday, sheriff’s deputies handed Shah Alam over to Border Patrol agents who, after determining that ICE had agreed not to detain and[...]

Posted 1 week ago

Feb 25

2026

Blind refugee abandoned by Border Patrol is dead

Nurul Amin Shah Alam. Photo via his missing persons poster. This is a developing story. It was last updated at 7:20 p.m. Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a nearly blind refugee from Burma who Border Patrol agents dropped off at a doughnut shop Thursday and left to find his way home, 5 miles away, has been found dead. City Hall spokesperson Ian Ott said Shah Alam, 56, was found by B District officers after they responded to a call for a dead body on the first block of Perry Street shortly after 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. “Mr. Shah Alam was identified by[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago

Feb 24

2026

Blind refugee missing after Border Patrol drop off at store

A missing poster circulated by family and friends of Nurul Shah Alam. Update: Refugee found dead. Read the story here. Attorneys and family members in Buffalo have spent the past five days searching for a nearly blind Burmese refugee after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons on Niagara Street without notifying anyone. Worse, his attorneys told Investigative Post, Buffalo Police Detective Richard Hy was handling the missing persons case and closed it for several hours, even though the man had not been found. The case was reopened as of Monday afternoon, Commissioner Craig Macy said. “It’s an[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago

Feb 20

2026

Landlords profiting from Trump’s immigration crackdown

250 Delaware Avenue, home to ICE. Photo by J. Dale Shoemaker. Over the past year, 250 Delaware Avenue — home to the regional offices for ICE — has become a site of protests and vigils by those enraged by the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration. But other agencies involved in the mass arrest and detention of migrants — Border Patrol, Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and other branches of the Department of Homeland Security — also have a footprint in the City of Buffalo and the surrounding suburbs. Those leases, tracked and reviewed by Investigative Post, show local landlords and[...]

Posted 2 weeks ago