Afghan asylum-seeker dies in ICE custody, US advocacy group says

(Refiles to correct spelling of Paktyawal’s first name Mohommad in second paragraph and bullet point)

By Joey Roulette

March 15 (Reuters) – An Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the U.S. military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the United States died this weekend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, a U.S. veteran-led advocacy group said on Sunday.

Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, who was living in a Dallas suburb with his wife and six children while his asylum case remained pending, was arrested by federal agents outside his apartment on Friday morning while taking his children to school, the group AfghanEvac’s president Shawn VanDiver said in a statement. Paktyawal died of unknown causes on Saturday, VanDiver said.

Paktyawal, 41, is at least the 12th person to die in ICE detention this year under U.S. President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown. Last year, 31 people died after being detained by ICE, a two-decade high. ICE has played a central role in Trump’s policy of mass deportations.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which includes ICE, said it needs more time to respond to a Reuters request for comment.

According to VanDiver, Paktyawal’s family was told that he was taken to a hospital in Dallas on the night of his arrest and was still alive the following morning, but died shortly after.

AfghanEvac called for an immediate investigation.

“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 said.

Paktyawal, a former Afghan special forces soldier who had worked alongside U.S. Army Special Forces since 2005, was evacuated from Afghanistan with his family in 2021 when the United States withdrew its forces after a war lasting two decades, VanDiver said.

Paktyawal had worked in the Dallas area at an Afghan halal market and was the primary provider for his family, including an 18-month-old infant, VanDiver said. He had been living in Richardson, Texas, VanDiver said.

The number of people detained by ICE has risen to record levels during Trump’s immigration crackdown. ICE had some 68,000 people in custody as of early February.

More than 70,000 Afghans entered the United States under Democratic former President Joe Biden’s Operation Allies Welcome initiative following the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, according to the Department of Homeland Security. U.S. agencies under Trump have moved to terminate temporary protected status previously granted by the U.S. government for humanitarian reasons to some 14,600 Afghans, opening them up to deportation.

(Reporting by Joey Roulette in Washington, additional reporting by Ryan Jones in Toronto and Ted Hesson in Washginton; Editing by Sergio Non and Will Dunham)