Afghan who fought with US special forces dies in ICE custody as Trump on track for deadliest year of detention in more than two decades

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An Afghan man who fought with U.S. forces and was legally evacuated to the U.S. after the fall of Kabul died this week 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 this fiscal year, which began in October. The administration is on track for the deadliest year in ICE detention in more than two decades.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, was preparing to drive his kids to school in the Dallas area on Friday when agents in unmarked vehicles allegedly surrounded him and arrested him in front of his children.

Later that day, the former Afghan special forces soldier contacted family members from ICE custody to say he wasn’t feeling well, they said. Around 11:45pm on Friday night, he was allegedly admitted to Parkland Hospital in Dallas. Around noon the following day, family members said they were informed he had died.

“It’s unacceptable,” Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac, an advocacy group that’s been in touch with Paktyawal’s family, said in an interview with The Independent.

open image in gallery Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, an Afghan man who fought alongside U.S. forces and was legally evacuated out of the country after the fall of Kabul, died this week shortly after being taken into ICE custody, according to his family ( Courtesy of Afghan Evac )

“This man fought our war for 10 years,” VanDiver added. “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.”

Paktyawal had been working at an Afghan bakery and had a pending asylum case, including a completed interview with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, according to #AfghanEvac.

The Independent has sought comment from Parkland Hospital, the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

VanDiver is calling for an independent investigation into the death, and said he has little trust DHS will be transparent about the case, given its record of making misleading claims in advance of hard evidence.

open image in gallery Paktyawal is survived by his wife and six children, one of whom is a U.S. citizen ( Courtesy of #AfghanEvac )

“This is the problem with DHS when you can’t trust a thing they say,” VanDiver said. “They lie to use every day. Chances are, the first thing they tell us is going to be a lie.”

He alleged Paktyawal and other Afghans have been singled out because of their heritage to keep up with President Donald Trump’s goal of unprecedented deportations.

VanDiver said he’s been tracking “thousands” of cases where Afghans were able to successfully legally challenge their arrests using habeas corpus requests and be released from detention, a sign they were taken in on flimsy grounds.

Immigration analysts were alarmed by 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 X. “Last year, 30 people died in ICE custody, a record level. This year, we’re on pace for just under twice that amount.”

open image in gallery The Trump administration is on track for the deadliest year in ICE custody in decades ( AP )

The Trump administration has put all its weight behind 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, and the Trump administration’s signature 2025 “One Big, Beautiful Bill” poured unprecedented billions into expanding U.S. detention capacity.

As of last month, there were nearly 70,000 people in immigration detention centers.

Centers across the country have faced accusations of medical neglect and unsafe facilities.

The state of immigration detention centers is likely to be a key issue in the confirmation hearings for Sen. Markwayne Mullin, Republican of Oklahoma, the Trump administration’s pick to replace Noem at the troubled agency, which is the midst of an ongoing funding freeze as Democrats push for immigration enforcement reforms.