BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — Congressman Tim Kennedy is demanding answers after a partially blind refugee was found dead near KeyBank Center in Buffalo, five days after Border Patrol agents dropped him off at a Tim Hortons in Riverside.
Kennedy sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem calling for accountability for Nurul Amin Shah Alam, a 56-year-old blind Rohingya refugee.
"There has to be accountability," Kennedy said. "There have to be answers."
Shah Alam's body was found near KeyBank Center Tuesday night and many questions remain about what happened on the day he went missing.
WATCH: New details released that provide a timeline of events following death of Nurul Amin Shah Alam
He had been held for more than a year at the Erie County Holding Center after being charged with felony assault and burglary. The district attorney's office lowered his charges to misdemeanors, which would prevent him from mandatory deportation. The plan was to keep him in jail until sentencing.
In a statement, the Legal Aid Bureau said that an outside immigration attorney advised Shah Alam's family he would be safe to post bail. Documents show the family paid $460 to secure his release on February 19.
As Shah Alam was released, he was taken into custody by Border Patrol, which had an immigration detainer on him at that time.
Khaleda Shah, who spoke on behalf of his family, described what happened when the family waited for him to be released.
WATCH: Community mourns man who was found dead after he was mistakenly taken into custody by CBP, then released
Border Patrol said they offered him "a courtesy ride, which he chose to accept to a coffee shop, determined to be a warm, safe location near his last known address."
However, Tim Hortons closes its doors to customers at 7 p.m., though its drive-thru remains open 24 hours. Shah Alam was left there after 8 p.m.
Buffalo Police previously said that an autopsy determined his death was "health-related" and that they had ruled out exposure or homicide. On Thursday, the Erie County Health Department refuted that.
On Friday, Buffalo Police clarified they were at the autopsy and had taken notes, but that the Medical Examiner would issue a final determination on the cause of death at a later time.
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