ICE Detains Wisconsin Trooper at Madison Airport

Van Der Merwe, 21, was about to board a flight within the country when ICE detained him in what the Department of Homeland Security described as an operation focused on enforcing immigration laws. He is being held at an immigration detention facility in Juneau, Wisconsin, and faces removal proceedings, the department said.

His lawyers say Van Der Merwe arrived lawfully from South Africa as a child and is listed in his father’s asylum application. They say he has spent seven years awaiting an asylum interview and has a work permit valid through 2030. He has served as a Wisconsin state trooper for nearly a year, according to his attorneys.

The lawyers said Van Der Merwe told officers he had work authorization and a pending asylum application, but was handcuffed and shackled and taken to detention. DHS said he entered the country in March 2019 with permission to stay until September of that year, and that a work permit or pending application does not grant legal status.

Attorney Marc Christopher called the detention “inhumane and despicable,” arguing that holding a trooper while his asylum case remains unresolved does not make communities safer. He said he would seek Van Der Merwe’s release on bond and called on Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to demand answers.

DHS said Van Der Merwe would receive due process and remain in custody during removal proceedings.

ICE Detains Trooper Despite Pending Asylum Case

A Wisconsin trooper with a pending asylum case is now in immigration detention after ICE arrested him at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison on November 5. His attorneys say Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, 21, has valid work authorization and has spent seven years awaiting an asylum interview.

Van Der Merwe arrived lawfully from South Africa while still a child and is listed in his father’s asylum application, his lawyers say. They say he has a work permit valid through 2030 and has served as a state trooper for nearly a year. He was about to take a flight within the country when ICE detained him.

The Department of Homeland Security says he entered in March 2019 with permission to stay only until September of that year. It says a work permit or pending application does not confer legal status, and that he will remain in custody as removal proceedings continue.

His lawyer, Marc Christopher, called the detention “inhumane and despicable” and said holding a trooper while his asylum case remains unresolved does not make communities safer. He plans to seek Van Der Merwe’s release on bond. The case puts the human cost of enforcement squarely against the administration’s insistence that an overstay warrants detention, even as the asylum claim remains pending.

ICE Enforces Overstay Rules in Trooper’s Airport Arrest

DHS says ICE arrested Wisconsin State Patrol trooper Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe at Dane County Regional Airport on November 5 as part of an immigration enforcement action, after he overstayed the permission granted when he entered the country in 2019.

The department says Van Der Merwe was allowed to remain until September 2019 and that work authorization or a pending application does not give someone legal status. It says he will receive due process and remain in custody during removal proceedings.

Van Der Merwe’s attorneys say he came legally from South Africa as a child, is included in his father’s pending asylum case and holds a work permit valid through 2030. They say he has spent seven years awaiting an asylum interview and was about to board a domestic flight when ICE detained him. He has served as a Wisconsin trooper for nearly a year.

His lawyer, Marc Christopher, called the arrest “inhumane and despicable” and plans to seek his release on bond. The detention has prompted criticism from his legal team, but the government’s position is that a pending case and work permit do not erase an overstay. The case will proceed through removal proceedings, DHS says.