A 41-year-old Afghan man has died in a Texas hospital less than a day after being taken into custody by United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), prompting calls from advocacy groups for an independent investigation.
Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, who had previously worked alongside US Army Special Forces in Afghanistan, died on 14 March after being detained during what ICE described as a targeted enforcement operation.
According to the agency, Paktyawal was arrested on Friday and later taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas after reporting breathing difficulties and chest pain while in custody. Officials said medical staff noticed early the following morning that his tongue had become swollen while he was eating breakfast, which triggered an emergency response.
ICE said multiple attempts were made to save his life but he was pronounced dead at 9:10am. The agency did not disclose a cause of death, stating that the circumstances surrounding the incident remain under investigation.
Paktyawal had been evacuated to the United States in 2021 following the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Advocacy organisation AfghanEvac, which assisted with the resettlement of Afghan nationals who worked with US forces, said his asylum application was still pending at the time of his death.
The group called for a transparent inquiry into the events surrounding his detention and medical treatment. AfghanEvac president Shawn VanDiver said oversight by the Department of Homeland Security’s inspector general and by Congress was needed to clarify the circumstances of the case.
Paktyawal’s family described him as a healthy man and said they were struggling to understand how he died so suddenly. In a statement shared through AfghanEvac, relatives said he was a father of six, with his youngest child just 18 months old.
ICE said Paktyawal entered the United States in August 2021 under a humanitarian parole programme, which expired in August 2025. The agency also noted that he had been arrested twice in 2024 over allegations related to fraud and theft involving the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a federal initiative that provides food assistance to low-income households.
AfghanEvac said those arrests did not lead to criminal charges and that, based on available records, Paktyawal had not been convicted of any offences.
The case comes amid wider scrutiny of immigration enforcement practices in the United States. Last week, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination criticised ICE for what it described as the excessive use of force during some immigration operations. The committee said at least eight people have died either during enforcement actions or while held in ICE custody since January.
Paktyawal was among the hundreds of thousands of Afghans who supported foreign military forces, diplomatic missions and international organisations during the two-decade international presence in Afghanistan. Many sought protection abroad following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021, fearing reprisals for their past roles.
The United Nations has documented reports of extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances of former Afghan officials and security personnel since the Taliban takeover, despite the authorities announcing a general amnesty.
According to the US State Department, more than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States since August 2021 as part of evacuation and refugee programmes.
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