Afghan Ally Dies 1 Day After ICE Detention as Texas Withholds Autopsy

3 articles · Updated · NBC News · Jul 7

Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, died at a Dallas hospital on March 14, a day after ICE arrested him for deportation proceedings while his asylum claim was still pending.
His death certificate says an unidentified substance caused an adverse drug reaction that triggered anaphylaxis and worsened his asthma; the death was ruled an accident, the first such ruling among 50-plus ICE detention deaths in Trump’s second term.
ICE said Paktiawal denied medical conditions or allergies during screening, then developed shortness of breath and chest pain within hours; his family says agents refused his wife's attempt to hand over his inhaler.
AfghanEvac, Sen. Richard Blumenthal and other lawmakers are pressing Texas authorities to release the autopsy, which Dallas County is trying to withhold on grounds that disclosure could interfere with a federal criminal investigation.
The case has drawn particular outrage because Paktiawal fought alongside U.S. Special Forces in Afghanistan for a decade before evacuating to the United States in 2021 with his family.