President Trump says the US is seeking to return Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base
President Donald Trump has said the United States is seeking to return Afghanistan’s Bagram Air Base.
A 41-year-old Afghan husband and father of six who served with the U.S. military in Afghanistan died a day after being taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents. An advocacy group is calling for an “immediate and transparent investigation” into his death.
Mohommad Nazir Pakchawal, a resident of Richardson, Texas, died on March 14 while in ICE custody, according to an agency news release, adding that Pakchawal had no reported medical history at the time of his arrest or processing.
Pakchawal was taken into custody in Richardson on the morning of March 13 “during a targeted enforcement action,” the statement said, describing him as a “criminal alien from Afghanistan.” The agency said Pakchawal was arrested twice in 2025 on charges of SNAP fraud and theft, but did not say whether he had been convicted.
According to the paper, on the night of March 13, Pakchawal complained of shortness of breath and chest pains in the processing storage room of the ICE field office in Dallas, and was immediately taken to Parkland Hospital in the city for treatment. According to the agency, doctors advised him to stay overnight for observation.
The next morning, as Pakchawal was eating breakfast, medical staff noticed that his tongue was swollen, the agency said. Despite medical attention and multiple life-saving efforts, Pakchawal was pronounced dead at 9:10am.
Pakchawal’s family described him as a “strong and healthy person” and said they were “heartbroken” over his loss.
“Our family is in deep shock and pain,” the families said in a statement shared by AfghanistanEvac, a San Diego-based coalition of organizations and individuals that helps relocate and resettle Afghan refugees considered at risk. “We still don’t understand why this happened.”
Afghanistan Ebak said in a separate statement that it was “deeply disturbed” by Pakchawar’s death.
Sean Vandiver, the group’s founder and president and a U.S. Navy veteran, said Pakchawal had served with U.S. Army Special Forces in Afghanistan’s dangerous Paktika province since 2005. The United States evacuated Pakchawal and his family in August 2021 after Afghanistan fell to the Taliban, Vandiver said.
Pakchawal had children ranging in age from 18 months to 15 years old and worked at a market and bakery in Dallas. Vandiver said his humanitarian parole ends in August 2025 and his asylum case is pending.
“We came here hoping for safety and a better life,” the family said in a statement, adding that Pakchawal “tried to build a peaceful life after everything his family had been through.”
Pakchawal was detained on the morning of March 13 as she prepared to take her children to school, her family said.
“That moment will stay in their hearts forever,” their statement reads.
Later that night, while in custody, Pakchawal told his brother that he didn’t feel well, Vandiver said.
The next morning, “his family was informed that he had died,” he said. “I’m not saying ICE killed him. But it’s very strange that a healthy 41-year-old man was taken into ICE custody and died 24 hours later.”
ICE officials did not immediately respond to a request for details from USA Today.
A news release from the agency says Pakchawal’s death is under active investigation, but Vandiver’s group is calling for the probe to include oversight from Congress and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security inspector general.
“Mr. Pakchawar survived the war in Afghanistan and trusted the United States enough to build a life here,” the Afghanistan Evac statement said. “His family demands answers…The United States made a promise to the Afghan people who stand with us, and we need transparency to keep that promise.”
