Afghan Military Ally Dies in ICE Custody Less Than 24 Hours After Texas Arrest

A 41-year-old Afghan asylum seeker who previously served alongside U.S. forces died in immigration custody just one day after being detained in Texas. Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal was arrested Friday morning while taking his children to school and died Saturday of unknown causes.

A former Afghan soldier who served with American military forces has died while in federal immigration custody, marking at least the 12th such death this year during the current administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, passed away on Saturday from undetermined causes, according to Shawn VanDiver, president of the veteran-led advocacy organization AfghanEvac. Federal agents had taken Paktyawal into custody Friday morning outside his apartment in a Dallas suburb as he was escorting his children to school.

The father of six was residing in Richardson, Texas, with his family while awaiting a decision on his asylum application. VanDiver reported that Paktyawal’s relatives were informed he was transported to a Dallas hospital Friday evening and remained alive Saturday morning before his death occurred.

“It is highly unusual for an otherwise healthy 41-year-old man to die less than a day after being taken into government custody,” VanDiver stated, calling for an immediate investigation into the circumstances.

Paktyawal had served as an Afghan special forces member, collaborating with U.S. Army Special Forces beginning in 2005. He and his family were among those evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021 during the American military withdrawal following two decades of conflict, according to VanDiver.

In Texas, Paktyawal worked at an Afghan halal market and served as the main income earner for his household, which included an 18-month-old baby, VanDiver explained.

This death contributes to rising fatality numbers in immigration detention facilities, with 31 people dying in ICE custody last year – the highest total in twenty years. Current detention numbers have reached unprecedented levels, with approximately 68,000 individuals held in ICE facilities as of early February.

More than 70,000 Afghan nationals entered America through the previous administration’s Operation Allies Welcome program after the Taliban regained control of Kabul in 2021, according to Department of Homeland Security data. The current administration has moved to end temporary protected status that had been granted to roughly 14,600 Afghans for humanitarian reasons, potentially subjecting them to deportation proceedings.

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, indicated it requires additional time to provide a response to media inquiries about the incident.