Multiple organizations have called for an immediate, independent investigation into the circumstances of Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal’s death.

DALLAS — An Afghan father who was living in North Texas with his family while seeking asylum has died less than 24 hours after being arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, officials say.

According to ICE, Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal died Saturday morning at Parkland Hospital in Dallas. He had been arrested Friday, ICE said, during a targeted enforcement action. 

On Friday evening, ICE said Paktyawal started complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath, and he was taken to Parkland Hospital for treatment. 

While eating breakfast on Saturday, ICE said medical staff noticed Paktyawal’s tongue had become swollen, causing hospital staff to respond. Multiple attempts were made to save Paktyawal’s life, officials said, but he was declared dead at 9:10 a.m.

The cause of his death is still not yet known.

The Afghan-American Foundation released a statement calling for an immediate, independent investigation into the circumstances of Paktyawal’s death.

“Nazeer Paktyawal was, by initial accounts, doing what fathers do every single morning across Texas and across America. He was dropping his children off at school,” the statement reads. “It was from that ordinary, loving act that he was taken into federal custody. He never came home.”

According to the foundation, Paktyawal had served alongside U.S. Special Forces for more than a decade, including during the conflict in Afghanistan.

“Whatever one’s views on immigration policy, a man who served alongside U.S. forces for over a decade, who was evacuated to the U.S. with legal status, was raising his family here, who was living the life of a neighbor and a dad, deserved to be treated with dignity,” the foundation said. “He deserved basic, adequate care. He deserved to survive.”

The foundation is also demanding the Department of Homeland Security Office of Inspector General to investigate Paktyawal’s death. According to the foundation, this demand isn’t political, but “a matter of basic human accountability.”

“The United States made commitments to its Afghan allies — commitments that crossed administrations, that were written in the sacrifices of American and Afghan men and women alike,” the statement reads. “Nazeer Paktyawal honored his side of that commitment. Our government must now honor its obligation to him — starting with the truth about how he died.”

According to ICE, Paktyawal had been arrested by local police in September 2025 for SNAP fraud, a felony, and arrested a second time in November of that year for an undisclosed reason.

Shawn VanDiver, president of the nonprofit #AfghanEvac, released a statement saying his organization is “deeply disturbed” by Paktyawal’s death.

“It is not normal for a healthy 41-year-old man to die within a day of being taken into government custody,” VanDiver wrote. “Mr. Paktyawal survived our war in Afghanistan and trusted the United States enough to rebuild his life here.”

#AfghanEvac is also calling for an independent investigation into Paktyawal’s death, as well as the circumstances of his detention and medical care.

“The United States made a promise to the Afghans who stood with us,” VanDiver wrote. “Honoring that promise requires transparency, accountability, and dignity in how they are treated here at home.”