HOUSTON — that Afghan immigrant His family said he was evacuated from his homeland after working for years with U.S. forces, and he died in a Texas hospital after immigration authorities arrested him, authorities said.
Federal immigration officials described Muhammad Nazir Paktiawal as a “criminal” who was arrested on charges of fraudulent use of food stamps and theft. Officials also said that Paktiawal did not provide any record of his military service.
#AfghanEvac, a San Diego-based group that helps resettle Afghans who helped the United States during the two-decade war, has disputed the federal government’s claims about Paktiawal, one of Several people Who died in recent months after being arrested by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
“Describing a man as a criminal without a conviction while claiming there is no record of service without checking interagency systems sounds less like fact-finding and more like damage control,” said Sean Van Diver, president of #AfghanEvac. “The government must explain how a 41-year-old father of six died less than 24 hours after entering ICE custody.”
The cause of death is still pending from the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. But Paktiawal’s family said he was not ill.
“We still cannot understand how this happened. He was only 41 years old and was a strong, healthy man. His children still ask when their father will come home,” the family said in a statement.
Authorities arrested Paktiawal on Friday, and during his medical examination at an Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office in Dallas, he complained of shortness of breath and chest pain, Department of Homeland Security spokeswoman Loren Pace said in a statement on Monday.
Bhaktiwal was taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas, his tongue swollen on Saturday and he received treatment. But later in the morning, medical staff had to perform CPR on him. He was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m. CST.
“No person in ICE custody is denied access to appropriate medical care,” Pace said.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said his death remains under investigation.
U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, who on Monday visited the ICE field office in Dallas where Bhaktiawal was being detained, said DHS and ICE have a history of “lying and misrepresenting” the background of people they arrest or encounter.
“He was not a violent criminal, as President Trump likes to say when he rounds up these people,” said Johnson, a Democrat who represents parts of Dallas County. “He was a baker.” “He was supporting his family and contributing to our economy. And so we have a lot of questions about why was this man targeted? Why was he arrested? Why did he die in their custody?”
Paktiawal was arrested on charges of fraud against SNAP, the largest government food assistance program, on September 16, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said. Garland police also arrested him on a robbery charge on Nov. 1, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said.
A spokesperson for the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office said there is an active case of SNAP benefits fraud of $200 or more, a third-degree felony, against Bhaktiwal that has not been resolved.
Police in the Dallas suburb of Garland said Paktiawal was arrested on November 1 after he was accused of failing to pay for groceries and merchandise from a Walmart store.
The case in Garland, a misdemeanor, has not yet been filed with the district attorney’s office, the spokesman said.
Paktiawal had previously served alongside US military special forces in Afghanistan for ten years and came to the United States after that Withdrawal of American forces The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021.
“The United States brought him here because of the role Afghans like him played in supporting the American mission,” Vandiver said.
Bhaktiwal, who was married, lived in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas.
Johnson said his family told her that he had applied for asylum and that his case was still pending. But Johnson said ICE agents claim Bhaktiwal has missed his asylum appointments.
Deaths Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention rates rose during Trump’s second term.
The agency reported 14 Custody deaths From the start of the government’s fiscal year on Oct. 1 through Jan. 6, it is on pace to surpass the previous 12-month tally of 24. ICE reported 12 deaths in custody in fiscal year 2024 and 12 deaths in the previous three years combined.
ICE has increased the number of people in it Detention centers To more than 70,000 from about 40,000 at the beginning of Trump’s second term. It plans to spend $38.3 billion to boost capacity to 92,600 beds by the end of November, including converted warehouses that accommodate up to 10,000 beds each.
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Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Jamie Stengel in Dallas and Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.
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Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70