KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – U.S. advocacy organizations and the family of an Afghan asylum seeker are calling for a full and transparent investigation into his death in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody less than 24 hours after his detention in the Dallas area.
The Council on American-Islamic Relations – Texas (CAIR-Texas) and AfghanEvac, a U.S. veteran-led group, demanded immediate probes on Sunday into both the reasons for Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal’s arrest on March 13 and the circumstances of his death the following day.
Paktiawal, 41, was detained by ICE agents outside his suburban Dallas apartment while dropping his children at school, family members said. He reportedly suffered serious health complications that evening and died on March 14 at Parkland Hospital in Dallas.
ICE confirmed the detention occurred on March 13 in a targeted enforcement action. The agency said Paktiawal had two prior local arrests in 2025—for SNAP fraud on Sept. 16 and theft on Nov. 1—but did not indicate whether convictions resulted.
Paktiawal, who lived in the Dallas area with his wife and six children while his asylum case remained pending, had served alongside U.S. special forces in Afghanistan before relocating to the United States as a refugee after the 2021 Taliban takeover.
CAIR-Texas described him as “a father, brother, and a valued member of the Dallas community,” and emphasized that “every person in government custody deserves humane treatment and due process.”
“We call on authorities to ensure a full and transparent investigation into the circumstances surrounding Mr. Paktiawal’s detention and death,” said Mustafaa Carroll, CAIR-Texas DFW Executive Director.
AfghanEvac President Shawn VanDiver said in a statement, “It is not normal for a healthy 41-year-old man to die within a day of being taken into government custody.” He added that Paktiawal “survived our war in Afghanistan and trusted the United States enough to rebuild his life here.”
“His family deserves answers. The American public deserves answers. The U.S. service members who fought alongside Afghan partners deserve answers,” Shawn said.
Paktiawal’s family, in a separate statement shared by AfghanEvac, said they were shocked and devastated by the death. They said he had spent years supporting U.S. forces in Afghanistan and had been working to provide for his family and build a peaceful life in the United States.
“We still cannot understand how this happened,” the family said in the statement. “He was only 41 years old and was a strong and healthy man. His children keep asking when their father will come home.”
The Paktiawal case is the latest in a series of deaths reported in ICE custody in recent months. According to The Texas Tribune, more than 30 deaths were recorded in ICE detention facilities last year, the highest number in two decades, as the agency expanded its role in immigration enforcement.
More than 70,000 Afghans entered the United States under the Operation Allies Welcome program following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Around 14,600 Afghans who previously held temporary protected status now face possible deportation as U.S. authorities ended protections granted for humanitarian reasons.
