Afghan US Ally Dies in ICE Custody After Texas Arrest

Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, a 41-year-old Afghan immigrant who had collaborated with U.S. Army Special Forces during the war in Afghanistan, died in federal custody on Saturday, less than 24 hours after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents detained him in a Dallas suburb.

Paktyawal was arrested Friday morning outside his apartment in Richardson, Texas, as he prepared to take his six children to school. According to Shawn VanDiver, president of AfghanEvac, a veterans group supporting Afghans who aided U.S. forces, eight masked agents approached Paktyawal around 7 a.m. He had been living there with his wife and children, including an 18-month-old infant, while his asylum application remained pending. Paktyawal worked as the primary provider for his family at a local Afghan halal market.

That evening, Paktyawal informed relatives that he felt unwell. He was transferred to a hospital in Dallas and was reported to be alive the following morning but died shortly thereafter. A preliminary report from the Dallas County Medical Examiner did not specify a cause or manner of death. VanDiver described the circumstances as unusual, stating, "It is highly unusual for an otherwise healthy...