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An Afghan asylum-seeker died in ICE custody in Dallas a little more than a week ago. This man had helped U.S. forces during the war in Afghanistan. His family and veterans advocates still want answers. Houston Public Media's Andrew Schneider reports.
ANDREW SCHNEIDER, BYLINE: Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal served alongside U.S. Army Special Forces in Paktika Province, one of the most dangerous in Afghanistan, starting in 2005. He and his family were evacuated when Kabul fell to the Taliban in 2021.
NASEER PAKTIAWAL: It was not easy for everyone to get on that plane.
SCHNEIDER: Nazeer's brother, Naseer Paktiawal, came to the U.S. seven years earlier.
PAKTIAWAL: You would have to have a badge from your job, certificates, recommendation letters, where you worked before with the U.S. government.
SCHNEIDER: Nazeer and his family initially were resettled in Dallas and moved to nearby Richardson, Texas, about a year ago. He was leaving home to take four of his six children to school on Friday, March 13, when two unmarked Black SUVs pulled up. Again, his brother, Naseer Paktiawal.
PAKTIAWAL: Around eight or nine people with no badges or any sign on the vehicles or any stickers that says the police or law enforcement, nothing. Just masked men surrounded him and told him that, you are going with us, and his kids were screaming for help.
SCHNEIDER: The agents took him away. Naseer says his brother called him later that day from ICE custody. Nazeer had said in the call that he'd offered to show the arresting agents documentation stating he had a legal right to be in the country through 2029. The agents wouldn't listen, he said. Late that evening, Naseer got another call from his brother.
PAKTIAWAL: He said that, I don't know, something is happening to me. I can't breathe well. My whole body's in pain, and I'm shaking and sweating.
SCHNEIDER: An ICE agent told Naseer his brother would be taken to the hospital. The next afternoon, Naseer was driving with his and his brother's children when ICE called him to tell him his brother had died that morning.
PAKTIAWAL: I just parked my car on the drive lane in the traffic, and all the kids were looking at me, and I was keep asking like, what? What do you mean? Maybe you got the wrong name. My brother is - I talked to him last night. How did this happen?
SCHNEIDER: It's still not clear what happened to Nazeer. According to the Dallas County Medical Examiner's Office, his manner of death is still listed as pending. According to data from ICE, two dozen people have died in the agency's custody since October. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security released a statement saying that Nazeer's humanitarian parole expired last year. It also said Nazeer had been arrested for SNAP fraud and theft last year. No charges were filed. Homeland Security also released a social media post claiming there was no record of Nazeer's military service. NPR has viewed a certificate from U.S. Army Special Forces thanking Nazeer for his sacrifice and service. Shawn VanDiver leads the organization AfghanEvac.
SHAWN VANDIVER: It tells us everything we need to know that ICE focused on two arrests that did not result in charges or convictions, rather than the fact that a father of six, an otherwise healthy 41-year-old man, died while in their custody.
SCHNEIDER: NPR did a criminal background check on Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal and found nothing. Homeland Security did not respond to several requests for an explanation of why he was arrested.
For NPR News, I'm Andrew Schneider in Houston.
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