(Washington) An Afghan man died in a Texas hospital less than 24 hours after being taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the federal agency said Sunday, sparking calls for an investigation.
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Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, had worked alongside U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan and was evacuated in 2021 to the United States, where his asylum application is still “under review,” according to AfghanEvac, a group that has helped resettle Afghans in the United States.
ICE said Mr. Paktyawal was arrested Friday and taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, Texas, after complaining of difficulty breathing and chest pain.
“Early on March 14, Paktyawal was eating breakfast when medical staff noticed that his tongue had swollen, triggering medical intervention. After several attempts at resuscitation, he was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m.,” ICE said in a statement.
The agency did not specify the cause of death and said that Mr. Paktyawal’s death “is currently under investigation”, adding that he had reported no medical history at the time of his arrest.
“AfghanEvac calls for an immediate and transparent investigation into the circumstances of his detention, medical care and death,” said the group’s president, Shawn VanDiver.
Mr. Paktyawal was the father of six children, the youngest being 18 months old, his family said in a statement relayed by AfghanEvac.
The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) last week denounced federal immigration police for their “excessive use of force” noting that at least eight people had died since January during ICE operations or while in ICE custody.
More than 190,000 Afghans have been resettled in the United States since the Taliban took power, according to the US Department of State.
