Dallas — The household of an Afghan immigrant who died at some point after being taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Texas says it has obtained no solutions as to what precipitated the person’s loss of life.
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, was detained by ICE on March 13 whereas on the point of take his youngsters to high school. He died the next day in a Dallas hospital.
“I simply need solutions for my dad,” 12-year-old Imrain Paktiawal, Paktiawal’s son, informed CBS Information in Richardson, Texas. “That is it. I need to know why he died. He was wholesome.”
The daddy of six is the twelfth individual to die in ICE custody to date this 12 months. Thirty-one ICE detainees died final 12 months, a two-decade excessive, in response to a CBS Information evaluation of company experiences and notices.
Naseer Paktiawal informed CBS Information he obtained his brother’s physique on Tuesday.
“I obtained a name from my sister-in-law,” Naseer stated of the morning his brother was taken into ICE custody. “She say that, ‘Some folks present up from nowhere, they usually simply took your brother.'”
Naseer stated the household obtained no rationalization as to why Paktiawal was detained.
“Nothing, they only put him of their automobile and drove away,” Naseer stated. “His youngsters have been screaming, asking for assist, asking query, ‘Who’re you guys? Why are you guys arresting my father, my dad?’ Nobody answered these youngsters.”
In an announcement supplied to CBS Information, ICE stated Paktiawal was dropped at the U.S. in August 2021, by an immigration coverage know as parole, which permits sure immigrants to dwell and work within the U.S. briefly on humanitarian grounds. The Biden administration used the parole coverage to welcome tens of 1000’s of Afghans it evacuated from Afghanistan following the Taliban takeover. ICE stated Paktiawal’s parole standing expired on Aug. 20, 2025.
ICE additionally stated Paktiawal had been arrested twice final 12 months within the Dallas space on native fraud and theft prices. The Dallas County District Lawyer confirmed the arrests however stated he had not been convicted in both case as of the time of his loss of life. The theft arrest stemmed from an allegation that he stole groceries and different gadgets from a Walmart retailer, in response to the Garland, Texas, police division.
Naseer, nevertheless, stated the arrests do not inform the complete story of his brother’s life. He factors to Paktiawal’s service, which he stated included a decade within the Afghan navy, combating alongside American forces earlier than being evacuated to the U.S. in 2021.
“My brother, he was a wartime hero and he was a soldier, a warrior alongside with U.S. Military,” Naseer stated. “He was particular forces in essentially the most harmful locations in Afghanistan.”
In an announcement, DHS stated it “has no document of this particular person serving alongside American forces.” However Naseer confirmed CBS Information paperwork and a badge that he says are proof that Paktiawal fought alongside U.S. troopers in Afghanistan.
“These are the those who my brother was working (with), American troopers in Afghanistan,” Naseer stated.
Naseer stated his brother got here to the U.S. legally and was “interviewed, fingerprinted, screened.”
“He didn’t cross the border,” Naseer stated. “Legally went by all of the system, full all of the procedures, not simply him…his whole household.”
It’s nonetheless unclear precisely what occurred after Paktiawal was detained. In response to the assertion from ICE, on the evening of March 13, Paktiawal was “instantly” taken to Parkland Well being hospital in Dallas after he “started complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains whereas in an ICE Dallas Area Workplace processing maintain room.”
ICE stated Paktiawal remained on the hospital “for statement,” and the next morning, he “was consuming breakfast when medical workers famous that his tongue had turn out to be swollen, prompting a medical response. After a number of lifesaving efforts have been tried, he was declared deceased at 9:10 a.m.”
Naseer stated he spoke to his brother by cellphone on March 13, the day he was detained.
“The very first thing that I heard from him, he stated, ‘Naseer, I do not know the place am I proper now, and I am not feeling nicely,'” Naseer stated of their dialog. “That is the primary phrase that I heard from him, ‘I am not feeling nicely.’ I informed him, ‘OK, so let me speak to whoever that officer is.'”
Naseer stated his brother then handed the cellphone to a federal immigration officer.
“And he hand over the cellphone, and I informed him (the immigration officer) that my brother wants assist, he is not feeling good,” Naseer recounted. “He is…feeling ache in his physique. He (the officer) informed me, ‘Don’t be concerned about it…we’ve nurse. We are going to handle him.’ And he dangle up the cellphone on me.”
Naseer says the household nonetheless has not obtained solutions as to the reason for his brother’s loss of life. ICE stated the loss of life stays beneath investigation.
“No one’s answering to me that what occurred to my brother,” Naseer stated. “Why is he useless?”
In the meantime, Imrain says his father’s absence is difficult to course of.
“He was dad…He was a hero, and he’ll all the time be a hero.”
