An Afghan immigrant who previously worked with the US military in Afghanistan and later sought asylum in the United States died this weekend in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody less than 24 hours after being detained in Texas, a US veteran-led advocacy group said on Sunday.
Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal, who was living in a Dallas suburb with his wife and six children while his asylum case remained pending, was arrested by federal agents outside his flat on Friday morning while taking his children to school, the group AfghanEvac’s president Shawn VanDiver said in a statement.
Last year, 31 people died after being detained by ICE, a two-decade high. ICE has played a central role in Trump’s policy of mass deportations.
It is highly unusual for an otherwise healthy 41-year-old man to die less than a day after being taken into government custody
According to VanDiver, Paktyawal’s family was told that he was taken to a hospital in Dallas on the night of his arrest and was still alive the following morning but died soon after.