Nurul Sham Alam- a Blind Burmese refugee- came to the United States 15 months ago seeking the American Dream. Instead, he found a nightmare experienced by so many living at the intersection of immigration, disability, and race. During his time in this country, he was beaten, tased, and unjustly detained by Buffalo and Erie County law enforcement due to what can at best be categorized as ignorance and, at worst, willful neglect of his rights and humanity. Customs and Border Protection agents took him into custody on Thursday, Feb. 19, and then abandoned him at a Tim Hortons in Buffalo with no resources and without alerting his family or attorney. His body was found last night. Mr. Alam’s death is tragic. It was also entirely predictable and preventable. His death represents a failure of law enforcement at every level. Our heartfelt sympathies go out to Mr. Shan Alam’s family and those who were close to him, and we call on Attorney General James to immediately open an investigation into his death to hold accountable all those who bear responsibility.