Afghan ally to U.S. forces dies after ICE arrest, raising questions

The death of an Afghan ally to U.S. forces after his arrest by immigration authorities in Texas has intensified scrutiny of how the United States treats those who once stood alongside American troops. The 41-year-old father of six, an asylum seeker evacuated after working with the U.S. military, died less than a day after entering federal custody, leaving his family and advocates demanding to know how a man they describe as healthy could collapse so quickly.

His case has become a flashpoint in North Texas, where grieving relatives, veterans and members of the Afghan diaspora say the government that promised protection instead failed a partner in its care.

From military ally to asylum seeker in Texas

Relatives and advocates say Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, described as an An Afghan man who had helped the American military in Afghanistan, arrived in the United States under humanitarian parole after the fall of Kabul. He was a 41-year-old father of six who had worked with U.S. Army Special Forces and other units, part of the cohort of Afghan allies airlifted out because their service made them targets of the Taliban.

Supporters say he was not a faceless detainee but a neighbor in Richardson, Texas, who drove his children to school and tried to rebuild a life while his asylum claim moved through the system. One advocate stressed that “he was not illegal,” arguing that his pending asylum case and past service should have weighed heavily against any harsh treatment in custody.

The final hours in ICE custody

Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE, took Paktyawal into custody at the Dallas ICE Processing Center in Dallas, Texas, after local authorities had previously arrested him in 2025, including for alleged SNAP related offenses, according to an agency statement cited in coverage of Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal. Advocates say his humanitarian parole had expired while his asylum application remained pending, leaving him in a legal limbo that many recent evacuees now face.

ICE has said that Paktyawal was in custody for less than 24 hours when he suffered a medical emergency. In a statement described in one account, the agency reported that he was eating breakfast when staff noticed his tongue had become swollen and that medical personnel began life saving efforts before he was transported to a hospital, where he later died, according to details attributed to Paktyawal.

Family grief and community fear

For his relatives, the official timeline does little to explain how a man they describe as “a strong and healthy man” could die so suddenly. Family members in Richardson told one local outlet that they still cannot understand how this happened and that they had expected him to stay overnight for observation at the hospital, according to reporting on Family concerns.

At a community gathering in North Texas, neighbors and fellow evacuees described a climate of fear after learning that an Afghan father who had been a former U.S. military ally died in custody. One report from CBS Texas noted that community members said they are afraid after the death and that they are watching closely as his death is under investigation.

Funeral prayers and a plea for dignity

Funeral prayers for the 41-year-old Afghan father of six were held on a Tuesday, only days after he died on a Saturday in ICE custody, according to local coverage of the funeral prayer. Mourners gathered not only to bury him but also to protest what they see as a betrayal of America’s promises to those who risked their lives alongside U.S. troops.

Speakers at the service and subsequent vigils emphasized that he had come to the United States seeking safety, not punishment. They argued that the government owes Afghan allies a level of care and transparency that was not evident in this case, particularly given his history of cooperation with U.S. military operations.

ICE’s account and an investigation under pressure

ICE has confirmed that an Afghan father and former U.S. military ally died in its custody in North Texas and has said that his death is under investigation, according to a statement cited in coverage of North Texas. The agency has pointed to its internal review process and to standard procedures that trigger when a detainee dies, including notification of oversight bodies.

Advocates and attorneys for the family, however, have called for an independent inquiry, arguing that internal reviews are not enough when the person who died was an Afghan ally with a pending asylum case. They have raised questions about medical screening at intake, the speed of the response once he showed distress, and whether language or cultural barriers may have affected how staff understood his symptoms.

Political fallout and oversight demands

Members of Congress have already begun pressing for answers. In one statement, Rep Veasey noted that this death occurred a week after he conducted a congressional oversight visit to the Dallas ICE Processing Center in Dallas and expressed concern about reports of people being held far longer than standards allow, according to a release titled Rep Veasey. A separate letter from lawmakers pressed ICE leadership about the detention of Paktiawal on March 14, 2026, following a stay that exceeded the eight hour standard at the ICE Processing Center in Dallas, Texas, as described in another congressional release on Paktiawal.