Afghan Dad Who Fought Alongside U.S. Military Dies Hours Into ICE Custody

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, an asylum-seeker, died less than 24 hours after immigration agents took him from outside his Dallas area home.

An asylum-seeking father of six who fought alongside the U.S. military in Afghanistan died this weekend less than 24 hours after he was detained by federal immigration agents outside his home in the Dallas area.

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal, 41, was preparing to drop his children off at school on Friday morning when multiple agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took him in front of his children, according to the man’s family.

“That moment will stay with them forever,” the family said in a Sunday statement, referring to his children, the youngest of whom is 18 months.

While waiting in the hold room at ICE’s Dallas office, Paktyawal began complaining to agents of shortness of breath and chest pains, the agency said. The man also told his family over the phone, and was admitted to Parkland Hospital on Friday night.

Paktyawal was eating breakfast at the hospital on Saturday morning “when medical staff noted that his tongue had become swollen, prompting a medical response,” ICE said in its Sunday statement. He was declared dead “after multiple lifesaving efforts.” A medical investigation into his cause of death is ongoing.