In the City of Good Neighbors, we are profoundly disturbed by the inhumane treatment that led to the death of a member of our community, Nurul Amin Shah Alam. What happened to Mr. Alam is unacceptable, heartbreaking, and a stark reminder of how systems can fail, especially when a person has clear and significant disabilities.
There is no justification for the mistreatment of any human being. Yet Mr. Alam, a man with an obvious disability, was subjected to actions and decisions that placed his life in grave jeopardy. Both Erie County, based on his release from the Holding Center, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection are bound by federal disability civil rights laws. Even the most basic application of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and the Americans with Disabilities Act should have prevented this tragedy. Mr. Alam exhibited a significant impairment that should have triggered protections, not abandonment.
Our community in Western New York is home to many organizations prepared and willing to assist individuals in crisis and ensure their safe return to their families. Western New York Independent Living is among those organizations. The failure to utilize these available resources, combined with the disregard for Mr. Alam’s safety, is unacceptable and indefensible.
WNYIL’s Chief Operations Officer, Aaron Baier, shared:
“As a blind person myself, I am terrified by the prospect of being lost, picked up by force, held in detainment, then released with no support or even knowledge of my location, in a place where I do not speak the language or have any means of contacting my loved ones. My family would do anything to help me IN SUCH A SITUATION and I have no doubt his family was doing the same. People with disabilities have innate value, as any human does. We are not disposable and no one deserves this type of treatment.”
We must be clear: this cannot happen again.
Stephanie Orlando, CEO of Western New York Independent Living, stated:
“Accountability must be more than a promise, it must be an action. No one with a disability should ever be left without support, protection, or dignity. The systems responsible for safeguarding human and disability rights failed Mr. Alam, and we cannot allow those failures to go unanswered.”
There must be accountability for every decision and action that contributed to this tragedy. Law enforcement at all levels must receive training to recognize and respond appropriately to disability-related needs. Prosecutors must be equipped to consider disability factors when making determinations about charging and sentencing. Community resources that exist to uphold human and disability rights must be recognized, consulted, and utilized, not ignored.
Western New York Independent Living supports a full and comprehensive investigation, with a specific focus on why Mr. Alam’s rights as a person with a disability appear to have been neither recognized nor protected. His death demands answers, and meaningful change.