Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal spent a decade fighting alongside U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Last week, the 41-year-old father of six was picked up by immigration agents in the Dallas area and died within about a day, his family says.
Relatives say agents in unmarked vehicles detained Paktyawal in front of his children as he was getting ready to drive them to school. He was later admitted to Parkland Hospital late Friday and pronounced dead around noon the next day, according to the family.
The Independent reports that Paktyawal had been legally evacuated to the United States after working with American forces, had a job at a local bakery and was in the middle of the asylum process, having already completed an interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Shawn VanDiver, president of the advocacy group #AfghanEvac, told the outlet, "This man fought our war for 10 years," and called for an independent investigation into how and why he died in custody.
Rising toll in ICE custody
Paktyawal's death lands in the middle of a grim trend inside U.S. immigration detention. The Guardian found that 32 people died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in 2025, the highest yearly total since 2004.
Separate detention data from TRAC shows ICE was holding 68,289 people as of Feb. 7. Advocates argue that level of detention puts serious strain on medical care, oversight and basic safeguards for people in custody.
Family's account and legal limbo
Paktyawal's relatives say his arrest came as he was preparing to take his children to school. One of his six children is a U.S. citizen, they note.
They also emphasize that he was not trying to avoid the system. According to the family, he had a pending asylum claim and had already completed a formal interview with USCIS before his arrest. When asked about his case, the agency referred questions to ICE, The Independent reports.
What investigators will look for
Deaths in ICE custody routinely trigger internal agency reviews along with local coroner investigations. Some recent cases have gone further. Several deaths were ultimately ruled homicides and opened the door to criminal probes, as detailed by The Washington Post.
Immigration analyst Aaron Reichlin-Melnick wrote on X that Paktyawal's death appears to be the "12th death in ICE custody in the first 2.5 months of the year," a tally advocates say only heightens the need for independent oversight of detention conditions.
This is the 12th death in ICE custody in the first 2.5 months of the year. Last year, 30 people died in ICE custody, a record level. This year, we're on pace for just under twice that amount. https://t.co/ZxyaLmIeHV
— Aaron Reichlin-Melnick (@ReichlinMelnick) March 15, 2026
Paktyawal's family and supporters are now demanding transparency, documents and a fully independent probe into what happened during the short window between his arrest and his death. Local advocacy groups say his case crystallizes the human cost of policies that expand immigration detention, and they expect lawyers and lawmakers to press for answers as the official investigations get underway.
