An Afghan man who had helped the American military in Afghanistan and was currently living in Texas died on Saturday, a day after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
ICE said in a Sunday news release that Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal’s death is under active investigation. His case brings the number of in-custody ICE deaths in Texas to at least seven since December.
At about 7 a.m. on Friday, eight masked agents detained Paktiawal when the 41-year-old was taking his kids to school, said Shawn VanDiver, president of the organization AfghanEvac. Paktiawal and his family lived in Richardson, outside of Dallas, while his asylum claim with the government remained pending.
Paktiawal told his relatives Friday evening that he did not feel well. He was admitted to a hospital and died Saturday, VanDiver said. A preliminary report from the Dallas County Medical Examiner did not list a cause or manner of death.
“Right now our family is trying to comfort six children who have lost their father,” said the family in a statement shared by AfghanEvac. “We are heartbroken and trying to process this loss.”
VanDiver, a U.S. Navy veteran who started AfghanEvac to help Afghans left behind after the United States withdrew from Afghanistan, called for an immediate and transparent investigation into Paktiawal’s death, which marked the latest at the hands of ICE. The federal agency has faced scrutiny as it undertakes President Donald Trump’s mass deportations.
“We don’t know what happened,” VanDiver told The Texas Tribune on Sunday. “But it would be pretty weird for a healthy 41-year-old man to die less than 24 hours after being taken into government custody.”
In its press release, ICE said agents detained him on March 13 in a targeted enforcement action.
It said he had two previous arrests by unspecified local authorities last year: first for SNAP fraud and again for theft.
Department of Homeland Security officials also said that Paktiawal did not provide any record of military service when he entered the country under a Biden administration program.
AfghanEvac questioned the DHS statement, saying the agency would not maintain those records, which are typically held by other federal agencies, according to the organization.
“Right now the government appears focused on discrediting a man who cannot defend himself while the central question remains unanswered,” VanDiver said. “His family deserves answers, and the public deserves transparency about what happened in the hours between his detention and his death.”
Dallas County records show that a grand jury indicted Paktiawal in September on a third-degree felony of knowingly using, altering and transferring food stamp benefit permits — worth $200 or more — for business purposes instead of authorized use. He then posted a $3,000 bond later that month, according to the last update on the case. No conviction has been logged.
ICE and DHS didn’t say whether he was convicted of the theft charge, and didn’t immediately respond to questions from the Tribune.
Paktiawal did not report any prior medical issues when ICE agents arrested him, the agency said. But later that evening, he complained of shortness of breath and chest pains when he was in a processing hold room at ICE Dallas Field Office, prompting officials to transport him to Parkland Hospital, according to the agency. He remained at the hospital for observation, based on the ER doctor’s recommendation.
The following day, ICE said hospital staff noted that his tongue had become swollen while eating breakfast, prompting a medical response. He was declared deceased at 9:10 a.m.
Thousands of Afghans resettled in Texas after the U.S. military in 2021 ended its two-decade presence in Afghanistan, and the Taliban took over.
Paktiawal, a father of six, began working with Army Special Forces in 2005 in a province called Paktika in southeast Afghanistan, according to AfghanEvac. He and his family were evacuated by the United States in August 2021 after the fall of the country.
ICE said he was paroled into the U.S. by an immigration officer after arriving at Washington Dulles International Airport. The parole expired in August 2025, according to the agency.
There have been at least a dozen deaths across the country in ICE custody this year. Last year, the agency recorded more than 30 deaths — a two-decade high — as it played an expanded role in Trump’s immigration crackdown. Nearly a quarter of those deaths occurred in Texas.
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