Afghan US Ally Dies in ICE Custody as Trump Administration Faces Deadliest Detention Year
An Afghan man who served alongside United States special forces and was legally evacuated to America after the fall of Kabul has died within a day of being arrested by federal immigration officers in Texas, according to his family. The reported death would be at least the 24th in Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody during this fiscal year, which began in October. The Trump administration is now on track for the deadliest year in ICE detention in more than two decades, raising serious concerns about oversight and conditions.
Arrest and Tragic Death
Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, aged 41, was preparing to drive his children to school in the Dallas area on Friday when agents in unmarked vehicles allegedly surrounded him and made the arrest in front of his kids. Later that same day, the former Afghan special forces soldier contacted family members from ICE custody to report that he was not feeling well. Around 11:45 PM on Friday night, he was allegedly admitted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. By approximately noon the following day, family members stated they were informed of his death.
"It's unacceptable," Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, an advocacy group that has been in contact with Paktyawal's family, said in an interview. "This man fought our war for 10 years. He had six kids, one of whom is an American citizen. He was brought here by the United States of America. He's been working hard in Texas, paying taxes ... He was doing everything right."
Background and Legal Status
Paktyawal had been employed at an Afghan bakery and had a pending asylum case, which included a completed interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to information from #AfghanEvac. The Independent has sought comment from Parkland Hospital, the Department of Homeland Security, and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. USCIS deferred questions to ICE, highlighting the bureaucratic challenges in obtaining clear information.
VanDiver is calling for an independent investigation into the death, expressing little trust that DHS will be transparent about the case, given its record of making misleading claims before hard evidence is available. "This is the problem with DHS when you can't trust a thing they say," VanDiver stated. "They lie to us every day. Chances are, the first thing they tell us is going to be a lie."
Broader Context and Allegations
VanDiver alleged that Paktyawal and other Afghans have been singled out due to their heritage to align with President Donald Trump's goal of unprecedented deportations. He noted tracking "thousands" of cases where Afghans successfully legally challenged their arrests using habeas corpus requests and were released from detention, suggesting they were taken in on flimsy grounds.
Immigration analysts have expressed alarm over another apparent death in custody under the Trump administration. "This is the 12th death in ICE custody in the first 2.5 months of the year," Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, senior fellow at the American Immigration Council, wrote on social media. "Last year, 30 people died in ICE custody, a record level. This year, we're on pace for just under twice that amount."
Administration Policies and Detention Conditions
The Trump administration has heavily focused on rapidly scaling up immigration arrests and detention. Homeland security adviser Stephen Miller and outgoing Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem reportedly demanded agents arrest 3,000 people per day. The administration's signature 2025 "One Big, Beautiful Bill" allocated unprecedented billions to expand U.S. detention capacity. As of last month, nearly 70,000 people were held in immigration detention centers across the country.
These centers have faced numerous accusations of medical neglect and unsafe facilities. The state of immigration detention is likely to become a key issue in the confirmation hearings for Senator Markwayne Mullin, a Republican from Oklahoma, who is the Trump administration's pick to replace Noem at the troubled agency. This comes amid an ongoing funding freeze as Democrats push for comprehensive immigration enforcement reforms.
The death of Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal underscores the human cost of aggressive immigration policies and highlights urgent calls for accountability and reform in detention practices.
