Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal
Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, was an Afghan man who worked alongside U.S. Army Special Forces for about a decade before settling in Texas, where he drove a truck and worked at a market and bakery to support his six children, according to his younger brother. ICE agents seized him outside his home in Richardson, Texas, in March 2026 as he was preparing to take his children to school. He reported chest pain and shortness of breath while in ICE custody in Dallas, was taken to Parkland Hospital, and died the next day, March 14, 2026. The Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office ruled the death an accident, citing anaphylaxis complicating acute asthma, but his family and advocates dispute that account and have asked for the autopsy report, which county authorities are withholding while a criminal investigation is pending. ICE has said its own investigation is ongoing and that no cause or manner of death has been officially determined.
Cause of death, as reported: Died in an accident (disputed). The Dallas County medical examiner ruled the death an accident from anaphylaxis complicating acute asthma, and his family and advocates dispute that account and have asked for the autopsy report.
Reported by: Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office (medical examiner or coroner).
News reports (5)
- Detainee Death Report: Paktiawal, Mohammad Nazeer
- Afghan man with pending asylum case dies in ICE custody in Dallas
- March death of Afghan asylum seeker who was in ICE custody ruled accidental by Dallas County
- Death of former Afghan ally while in ICE custody ruled an accident
- Dallas County releases autopsy report for Afghan asylum seeker who died in ICE custody in March