An Afghan man who worked with the US military dies in ICE custody

News

An Afghan man who worked with the US military dies in ICE custody

2026-03-17 07:30 Last Updated At：07:40

HOUSTON (AP) — An Afghan immigrant whose family said he had been evacuated from his home country after working for years with U.S. forces died at a Texas hospital after immigration authorities detained him, according to authorities.

Federal immigration officials called Mohommad Nazeer Paktyawal a “criminal” who had been arrested for alleged fraudulent use of food stamps and for theft. Officials also said Paktyawal had not provided any record of his military service.

#AfghanEvac, a San Diego-based group that helps resettle Afghans who assisted the U.S. during the two-decade war, pushed back against the federal government’s claims about Paktyawal, one of several people who have died in recent months after being detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.

“Calling a man a criminal without a conviction while claiming there is ‘no record’ of service without checking interagency systems looks less like fact-finding and more like damage control,” said Shawn VanDiver, president of #AfghanEvac. “The government should be explaining how a 41-year-old father of six died less than 24 hours after entering ICE custody.”

A cause of death is still pending from the Dallas County Medical Examiner’s Office. But Paktyawal’s family said he was not ill.

“We still cannot understand how this happened. He was only 41 years old and was a strong and healthy man. His children keep asking when their father will come home,” the family said in statement.

Paktyawal was arrested by ICE on Friday and during his medical intake exam at a Dallas ICE field office, he complained of shortness of breath and chest pain, Department of Homeland Security spokesperson Lauren Bis said in a statement Monday.

Paktyawal was taken to Parkland Hospital in Dallas and on Saturday, his tongue became swollen 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. CDT.

“No one in ICE custody is denied access to proper medical care,” Bis said.

His death was still under investigation, ICE said.

U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, who on Monday had visited the Dallas ICE field office where Paktyawal was held, said the Department of Homeland Security and ICE have had a history “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’s rounding up these folks. He was working as a baker,” said Johnson, a Democrat who represents parts of Dallas County. “He was providing for his family and contributing to our economy. And so we have a lot of questions of why was this gentleman targeted? Why was he picked up? And why did he die in their custody?”

ICE said Paktyawal had been arrested for committing fraud against SNAP, the government’s biggest food aid program, on Sept. 16. ICE said he had also been arrested for theft by Garland police on Nov. 1.

A Dallas County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson said there is an active case regarding SNAP benefits fraud of $200 or more, a third-degree felony, against Paktyawal that had not been resolved.

Police in the Dallas suburb of Garland said Paktyawal was arrested on Nov. 1 after being accused of not paying for groceries and merchandise from a Walmart.

The case in Garland, a misdemeanor, had not yet been filed with the district attorney’s office, according to the spokesperson.

Paktyawal had previously served alongside U.S. military special forces in Afghanistan for a decade and came to the United States following the withdrawal by U.S. troops and the takeover of Afghanistan by the Taliban in August 2021.

“The U.S. brought him here because of the role Afghans like him played in supporting the American mission,” VanDiver said.

Paktyawal, who was married, had been living in Richardson, a suburb of Dallas.

Johnson said she had been told by his family that he had applied for asylum and his case was pending. But Johnson said ICE agents are claiming that Paktyawal had missed his asylum appointments.

Deaths in ICE custody have soared during Trump’s second term.

The agency reported 14 custody deaths from the start of the government’s fiscal year Oct. 1 through Jan. 6, well on pace to surpass the previous 12-month count of 24. ICE reported 12 custody deaths in the 2024 fiscal year and 12 in the previous three years combined.

ICE has increased the number of people in its detention centers to more than 70,000 from about 40,000 at the start 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 house up to 10,000 each

Associated Press writers Elliot Spagat in San Diego, Jamie Stengle in Dallas and Rebecca Santana in Washington, D.C., contributed to this report.

Follow Juan A. Lozano: https://x.com/juanlozano70

Hurricane Isaias strengthens as it takes aim on the US Gulf Coast

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. (AP) — Hurricane Isaias strengthened Thursday as it barreled toward the U.S. Gulf Coast, prompting orders for tourists to trade beaches for safer spots inland, sending locals scurrying for gas and groceries, and leading fishing crews to secure their boats before the destructive storm's arrival.

The first hurricane of the Atlantic season was forecast to intensify rapidly and cause dangerous conditions in the Florida Panhandle, southern Alabama and southern Mississippi when it makes landfall late Friday or early Saturday. Heavy rain and flooding were possible into the weekend as far north as Tennessee and North Carolina.

“We are expecting Isaias to be a dangerous hurricane when it makes landfall,” Michael Brennan, director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said Thursday.

He added: “Today is the day to prepare and get ready and be in your safe place by tomorrow as conditions will rapidly deteriorate along the northern Gulf Coast as Isaias approaches.”

The hurricane had maximum sustained winds of about 85 mph (140 kph) and was moving east-northeast at 10 mph (17 kph) as of early Thursday afternoon, the hurricane center said. It was centered about 355 miles (570 kilometers) south of the mouth of the Mississippi River.

Coastal communities moved quickly to prepare, as Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey ordered non-residents to immediately evacuate Gulf Shores, Orange Beach and Dauphin Island. Videos on social media Thursday showed traffic at a standstill on a highway leading out of Gulf Shores, where double-red beach flags signaled water access was closed.

At least four Florida school districts canceled late-week classes, while several counties announced mandatory evacuations for some coastal areas. The governors of Florida and Alabama declared states of emergency for dozens of counties ahead of Isaias' arrival, and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis said about 5,000 National Guard troops were expected to mobilize by Friday.

On Dauphin Island, a 15-mile-long (24-kilometer-long) barrier island off the Alabama coast, officials encouraged voluntary evacuations, particularly on its popular western section, which is vulnerable to storm surge.

Mayor Jeff Collier said he didn't anticipate substantial damage, “but at the same time, these things are very fickle and a little jog here or there, or some last-minute increase in strength — we just have to be prepared for the worst.”

Water from the storm surge and high tide could reach heights of 5 to 7 feet (1.5 to 2 meters) in parts of Alabama and Mississippi, forecasters said. Isaias also could dump up to 15 inches (38 centimeters) of rain on coastal areas and spawn tornadoes overnight Friday into Saturday from Alabama to the Florida Panhandle and southwestern Georgia. The hurricane is expected to quickly weaken after coming ashore.

The National Weather Service told communities from Ocean Springs, Mississippi, to Gulf County, Florida, to prepare for the possibility of “long-duration power outages.”

Isaias developed more than four months into the Atlantic hurricane season and was one day short of tying a 121-year-old record for the area’s latest-forming hurricane. That record dates to 1905, when the year’s first Atlantic hurricane formed on Oct. 8.

The Atlantic hurricane season has been unusually quiet this year because of a strong El Niño, which disrupts storm formation over the Atlantic. Storm activity has been above average in the Pacific, where Tropical Storm Simon formed Wednesday off Mexico and was forecast to strengthen into a Category 4 hurricane. Farther north, Tropical Storm Rachel was expected to reach Baja California, Mexico, and Southern California this weekend.

Isaias is expected to strike a swath of coastline that’s familiar with major hurricanes.

One of the 20th century’s worst storms, Hurricane Camille, killed more than 250 people after hitting land near Waveland, Mississippi, in 1969. Hurricane Katrina in 2005 razed neighborhoods in Mississippi, flooded New Orleans and killed nearly 1,400 people. And Hurricane Michael leveled homes and buildings near Panama City, Florida, in 2018.

Ahead of the storm, oil and gas producers shut down a significant share of offshore production in the Gulf, which accounts for almost 15% of crude pumped annually in the U.S.

As of Thursday, about 63% of the oil production in the region had been temporarily halted, taking nearly 1.3 million barrels a day off the market, according to the Marine Minerals Administration. It said 121 of the Gulf’s 371 manned oil platforms had been evacuated.

With oil prices already high, the production cuts are steep enough to affect markets, though other Gulf hurricanes have caused larger disruptions, said Jim Burkhard, global head of crude oil market research for S&P Global Energy. More concerning, he said, is whether Isaias strikes as a powerful storm near refineries.

As it moves inland, Isaias might also disrupt Saturday’s college football showdown between rivals Georgia and Alabama, a game President Donald Trump planned to attend.

In Loxley, a small Alabama community where county officials urged voluntary evacuations, Nichole Eubanks and her husband prepared to ride out the storm on their farm, which is home to dozens of animals, including pigs, donkeys and about 20 rescued cats.

They planned to put contact information on the hooves of their goats, donkeys and pigs in case they got loose.

“It’s definitely scary, and you never really know where these storms are going to go and how bad it’s going to be until it gets there,” said Eubanks, 35.

In the Alabama fishing village of Bayou La Batre, Tony Rice and Lance Connor installed doors on their fishing boat Thursday to protect the vessel. The boat was one of many moored there, and Rice said they planned to move it to a less-crowded spot to decrease the chances of it bumping into others.

In Pensacola, Florida, officials said the airport will close to commercial flights Friday morning. Mayor D.C. Reeves urged residents to check on older adult neighbors and others who might need help.

“Obviously no need to panic at this point,” Reeves told a news conference. “This is really about preparation.”

Rico reported from Atlanta and Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Also contributing were Associated Press reporters Kim Chandler in Montgomery, Alabama; Hallie Golden in Seattle; Kathy McCormack in Concord, New Hampshire; John Raby in Charleston, West Virginia; Laura Turbay in Little Rock, Arkansas; and Julie Walker in New York.