Washington, D.C. – Advocacy groups are calling for answers after an Afghan asylum seeker in the United States died just hours after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The death of Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, comes as US President Donald Trump’s administration has stepped up immigration enforcement as part of a mass deportation campaign.
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That campaign has often affected the lives of the around 70,000 Afghans evacuated to the United States following the US withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, like Paktyawal, who worked alongside US forces during Washington’s two-year military deployment in the country. Since then, thousands of other Afghans who fear retaliation from the Taliban have moved to the United States.
Paktyawal’s family described him as a “loving husband and father” of six children who worked at a halal market and a bakery near his home in Richardson, Texas.
In a statement broadcast through the advocacy group AfghanEvac, they said he was detained on March 13 as he left to drop his children off at school.
“His children saw him being surrounded and taken away,” the family said in a statement. “That moment will stay with them forever.”
Less than 24 hours later, they were notified that he had been rushed to the hospital, where he died.
“We cannot understand how this happened. He was only 41 years old and was a strong, healthy man,” they said. “His kids keep asking when he’s coming home.”
‘Abdication of duty of care’
For its part, ICE said in a statement that Paktyawal had complained of difficulty breathing and chest pains while being processed. He was then rushed to nearby Parkland Hospital, where he was given care.
The next morning, the agency said, medical staff noticed that Paktyawal’s tongue was swelling and said, “after multiple attempts to save his life, he was pronounced dead at 9:10 am.”
ICE further described Paktyawal, also known as Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, as a “criminal illegal alien,” saying he had previously been arrested by “local authorities” for fraud and theft related to food benefits from the U.S. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP).
But speaking to Al Jazeera, Shawn VanDiver, founder of AfghanEvac, said the “criminal” label was intended to distract from Paktyawal’s death. He said Paktyawal was never charged, much less convicted, following the arrests.
“They’re not saying he was never charged, they’re not saying he was never convicted,” VanDiver said.
“It is not normal for an otherwise healthy 41-year-old man to die within 24 hours of being arrested,” he said. “His death is indicative of an abdication of the duty of care.”
AfghanEvac said Paktyawal had worked as an Afghan special forces soldier starting in 2005, alongside US army special forces in Paktika province.
The Afghan American Foundation was among the groups calling for a full investigation.
“Whatever one’s opinion on immigration policy, a man who served alongside US forces for more than a decade, who was evacuated to the United States with legal status, who was raising his family here, who lived the life of a neighbor and a father, deserved to be treated with dignity,” the organization said in a statement.
“He deserved basic and adequate care. He deserved to survive,” it said.
Hardline immigration policies
Paktyawal’s death comes as human rights groups have repeatedly warned about the treatment of immigrants detained in the United States, whose numbers have increased amid the Trump administration’s police crackdown.
Immigration experts have said this has included increased detention of refugees and asylum seekers, who are otherwise legally allowed to be in the country.
In total, according to the American Immigration Council, the number of people detained by ICE increased during Trump’s first year in office, rising from 40,000 to 73,000 in January 2026.
Meanwhile, Afghans living in the United States have faced special scrutiny from the Trump administration.
After an Afghan national shot two members of the National Guard in Washington, DC, in November 2025, killing one of the soldiers, the administration announced that it was suspending the issuance of new visas to Afghan citizens, as well as decisions on asylum cases.
Advocacy groups have denounced the measure as “collective punishment.”
Even Afghans who worked alongside US forces or other organizations – a group that has traditionally enjoyed bipartisan support – have not been spared by hardline policies.
While a court has ordered that Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs), which are reserved for people who worked directly in support of the U.S. military, must still be processed by the administration, advocates say the program has essentially stopped.
The Trump administration has effectively closed refugee pathways for Afghans, restricting the US refugee program and instead prioritizing white South Africans.
The administration also ended temporary protected status for Afghans, leaving about 11,700 Afghans in the United States without protection from deportation, according to the organization Global Refuge.
