Afghan ally dies in ICE custody in Texas, family seeks answers

A 41-year-old Afghan husband and father of six who served alongside U.S. military forces in Afghanistan died a day after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, and one advocacy group is calling for “an immediate and transparent investigation” into his death.

Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, a resident of Richardson, Texas, died in ICE custody on Saturday, according to an agency news release, adding that Paktyawal had reported no prior medical history at the time of his arrest or processing.

Paktyawal was taken into custody in Richardson on Friday “during a targeted enforcement action,” the release said, describing him as “a criminal alien from Afghanistan.” The agency said Paktyawal was arrested twice in 2025 for SNAP fraud and theft but did not say if he was convicted.

On Friday evening, it said, Paktyawal complained of shortness of breath and chest pains while in a processing hold room at an ICE field office in Dallas and was immediately transported to the city’s Parkland Hospital for treatment. The physician recommended he stay overnight for observation, the agency said.

The next morning, Paktyawal was eating breakfast when medical staff noticed his tongue had swollen, the agency said. That prompted a medical response, and despite multiple lifesaving efforts, Paktyawal was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m.

Paktyawal’s family described him as “a strong and healthy man” and said they were “heartbroken.”

“Our family is in deep shock and pain,” family members said in a statement shared by AfghanEvac, a San Diego-based coalition of organizations and individuals that helps relocate and resettle Afghan refugees considered to be at risk. “We still cannot understand how this happened.”

In a separate statement, AfghanEvac said it was “deeply disturbed” by Paktyawal’s passing.

Shawn VanDiver, the group’s founder and president and a U.S. Navy veteran, said Paktyawal served alongside U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan’s dangerous Paktika province starting in 2005. The United States evacuated Paktyawal and his family in August 2021 after ⁠Afghanistan’s fall to the Taliban, VanDiver said.

Paktyawal, whose children range from 18 months to 15 years old, worked at a Dallas market ⁠and bakery. His humanitarian parole ended in August 2025 and his asylum case was pending, VanDiver said.

“We came here hoping for safety and a better life,” the family’s statement said, adding that Paktyawal “tried to build a peaceful life after everything our family had been through.”

According to the family, Paktyawal was detained on ⁠the morning of March 13 as he prepared to take his children to school.

“That moment will stay with them forever,” their statement read.

Later that night, while in custody, Paktyawal told his brother he wasn’t feeling well, VanDiver said.

The next morning, “his family ⁠was informed that he had died,” he said. “We’re not saying that ICE killed him. But it’s awfully curious that a healthy, 41-year-old man went into ICE custody, and 24 hours later he’s dead.”

ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request from USA TODAY for more details.

While the agency’s news release ⁠said Paktyawal’s death is under active investigation, VanDiver’s group is asking that the inquiry include oversight by Congress as well as the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general.

“Mr. Paktyawal survived our war in Afghanistan and trusted the United States enough to build a life here,” AfghanEvac’s statement said. “His family deserves answers. … The United States made a promise to the Afghans who stood with us. Honoring that promise requires transparency.”