D-FW Afghan man who died in ICE custody in March suffered an allergic reaction, death certificate shows

AUSTIN – An Afghan man arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in March died of an allergic reaction the following day, his newly released death certificate shows, prompting demands for transparency Monday from his family and members of Congress. 

Mohammad Nazeer Paktyawal suffered an adverse drug reaction from an unidentified substance, leading to anaphylaxis that complicated his asthma, according to the death certificate. His death was ruled an accident. He was 41. 

“What accident are they talking about?” asked Naseer Paktiawal, his younger brother, at Monday’s news conference. “Someone in that building knows what happened to my brother. I want to know. I want them to say it.” 

Paktyawal’s death prompted immediate outrage from his family and members of Congress given that he was a former Afghan special forces soldier who worked alongside U.S. Army Special Forces. He and his family were evacuated from Afghanistan in 2021 as the U.S. war effort ended and the Taliban seized control of the government.

Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said the lack of transparency “smacks of a cover-up” and said he would demand the autopsy from the Department of Homeland Security, which is ICE’s parent agency. 

“The refusal to release these records creates doubts and suspicions that raise the specter of some kind of cover-up,” said Blumenthal. 

ICE did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment. 

He settled in Richardson with his wife and six children. ICE has previously said he was allowed into the U.S. on temporary humanitarian parole in August 2021 that expired in 2025. 

Paktyawal is the 19th person to die in ICE custody in 2026, according to the federal agency. Deaths in ICE custody have drawn new scrutiny under President Donald Trump and his administration’s push to arrest and deport undocumented migrants in record numbers. ICE reported 33 in-custody deaths in the 2025 calendar year – the highest in two decades. 

#AfghanEvac, an advocacy group, called on Texas authorities to release Paktyawal’s full autopsy report and to explain why the death certificate lists the date of his injury as the day before ICE arrested him. He was arrested March 13 and died March 14. 

“A family has been waiting since March for the government to tell them the truth about how their brother died in its custody,” said Shawn VanDiver, the advocacy group’s president.

The Dallas County medical examiner’s office did not immediately respond to an email asking about the date discrepancy. 

Dallas County has sought to withhold Paktyawal’s autopsy report, telling the Texas Attorney General’s office that releasing the information could interfere with an ongoing criminal investigation into his death. The document doesn’t identify the target of the investigation.

The Dallas Morning News previously requested Paktyawal’s autopsy. Dallas County officials appealed the request to the attorney general, which ruled last month that Dallas County does not have to release the report. 

Paktyawal’s death certificate also listed the toxic effects of methamphetamine, cigarette smoking and heart disease as contributing factors in his death. His family and coworkers say they did not know him to use meth, his brother said. 

“Nobody in my family, nobody who worked with him, nobody who prayed with him ever knew my brother to use methamphetamine,” Paktiawal said, adding he does not know what meth is. 

He said his brother smoked cigarettes in the past, but only for about a year and not since moving to the U.S.  

ICE’s report on Paktyawal’s death said he did not report he was taking medications or experiencing any medical conditions when he was arrested or while he processed.

Paktyawal began complaining of shortness of breath and chest pains while in a holding room at the Dallas ICE field office and was taken to the hospital for treatment, the report said. 

ICE said medical staff noticed his tongue was swollen the next morning while he was eating breakfast, prompting a response, but he died despite lifesaving efforts.