Autopsy Released for Afghan Veteran Who Died in ICE Custody After Dallas Detention
Dallas County released the full autopsy report this week for Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, a 41-year-old Afghan immigrant who died in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody in March, roughly five months after his family and advocacy groups began pressing for its release. The county had previously declined to make the report public, citing an ongoing federal criminal investigation.
The medical examiner ruled Paktiawal’s death accidental, caused by anaphylaxis — a severe allergic reaction — complicating acute asthma. The report also listed methamphetamine in his system as a contributing factor, along with cardiovascular disease and a history of smoking.
Paktiawal’s family has not yet publicly responded to the autopsy findings ahead of a scheduled news conference next week. They previously stated he did not use illegal drugs and had no known allergies.
Paktiawal served alongside U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan for more than a decade before being resettled in Texas in 2021 after Kabul fell to the Taliban. ICE agents detained him outside his home near Dallas on the morning of March 13 as he prepared to take his children to school. He was taken to Parkland Hospital that evening after complaining of chest pains and shortness of breath.
The following morning, March 14, Paktiawal had an anaphylactic reaction after receiving an antibiotic, according to the autopsy report. Hospital staff attempted resuscitation but were unsuccessful. He was pronounced dead at 9:10 a.m.
Scott Shuchart, who served as assistant director for regulatory affairs and policy counselor to the ICE director from 2022 to 2025, raised questions about the findings. “There certainly shouldn’t be access to methamphetamine for detainees,” Shuchart said. “So, if it’s correct that that was something that contributed cause of death, that’s quite concerning. And then, if it was primarily some kind of asthma-type reaction, why couldn’t that have been treated successfully on-site?”
After Paktiawal’s death, the Department of Homeland Security said his humanitarian parole had expired and noted he had been arrested for alleged SNAP fraud and theft, though no charges were filed. DHS also released a social media post claiming there was no record of his military service. Houston Public Media viewed a certificate from U.S. Army Special Forces thanking Paktiawal for his “sacrifice and service.”
An independent forensic pathologist hired by the family found “nothing remarkable” in Paktiawal’s underlying health, according to AfghanEvac, a nonprofit assisting Afghan allies resettling in the U.S. However, the independent exam took place after Paktiawal had been embalmed, so no blood remained for toxicology testing.
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin promised U.S. Rep. Julie Johnson, D-Texas, during a hearing roughly two months ago that he would conduct a full investigation into the death. DHS did not immediately respond to a request for information on the status of that investigation.
Paktiawal left behind a wife and six children, now in the care of his brother, Naseer Paktiawal. “He was not a criminal. He was not a threat to the public, to this country. He fought for this country,” Naseer said in an earlier statement. “I want accountability. Accountability is warranted most of all. I want the truth about what happened to my brother.”
The Breakdown
- Mohammad Nazeer Paktiawal, 41, died in ICE custody on March 14, less than 24 hours after being detained outside his Dallas-area home.
- The Dallas County medical examiner ruled his death accidental, caused by anaphylaxis complicating acute asthma after receiving an antibiotic at Parkland Hospital.
- The autopsy also listed methamphetamine in his system as a contributing factor — a finding his family disputes, stating he did not use illegal drugs.
- Paktiawal served with U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan for over a decade and was resettled in Texas in 2021 after Kabul fell to the Taliban.
- DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin promised a federal investigation during a congressional hearing; the status of that investigation is unknown.
What This Means for You
This case puts a spotlight on how the federal immigration enforcement system handles the detention and medical care of people in its custody. When someone dies within hours of being taken into federal custody, and when the agency’s own statements about that person’s background are contradicted by documentation his family holds, questions arise about transparency and accountability. The promised federal investigation has not been completed or released five months after Paktiawal’s death, and a U.S. Senator has said he’s prepared to subpoena the findings if they aren’t produced voluntarily.
What to Watch
The unanswered questions here aren’t small. If methamphetamine was genuinely present in Paktiawal’s system, how did a detained person access an illegal drug while in federal custody — and why is that being treated as a footnote rather than a failure of the detention system itself? If the primary cause was an allergic reaction to an antibiotic, why didn’t the hospital successfully treat it, and why was he in a hospital in the first place less than twelve hours after being detained?
The family’s independent autopsy found nothing remarkable in his underlying health, but took place after embalming — meaning no blood was left to test. That leaves the county’s methamphetamine finding unverified by any second opinion, and raises the question of whether the timing of the independent exam was itself a barrier to accountability.
Then there’s the broader pattern: this is one of more than 50 deaths in ICE custody. When an agency’s version of events is repeatedly questioned — when it claims no record of military service a family can document, when it cites arrests that led to no charges, when it promises an investigation that doesn’t materialize — questions arise about whether the system operates with the accountability the public expects.
