A 21-year-old Wisconsin state patrol trooper was released from federal immigration custody on Friday, a day after immigration agents detained him as he waited to board a domestic flight.1,2,3
The trooper, Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, a South African national, has a pending asylum case and a work authorization valid through 2030, his attorneys said. The Department of Homeland Security said he overstayed a visa issued in 2019 and remained in custody pending removal proceedings at the time of its statement.2,3
Van Der Merwe was traveling to visit family when agents approached him at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison on Thursday. He told officers he had a work permit and a pending asylum application. "According to Van Der Merwe, the officers said they did not care, placed him in handcuffs and shackles, and transported him to immigration detention in Dodge County," the law firm Christopher & De León said. An ICE database showed him held at a detention facility in Juneau, Wisconsin.1,3
The department said the arrest was a targeted enforcement operation at the airport. It said Van Der Merwe came to the United States legally in March 2019 with permission to stay until September 2019. "In defiance of our nation's laws, he overstayed his admission. This illegal alien will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings," a department spokesperson said.2,3
The spokesperson also said the department had changed policy on air travel. "DHS reversed the horrendous Biden-era policy that allowed aliens in our country illegally to jet around our country. Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this. This administration is working diligently to ensure that aliens in our country illegally can no longer fly unless it is out of our country to self-deport," the spokesperson said.3
His lawyers rejected the department's account. They said U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, an agency within the department, had authorized him to work, and he used that authorization to serve in Wisconsin law enforcement. "We don't think ICE even believes its own statement," the law firm said. A department spokesperson told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the US."2
Christopher said he would seek his client's release on bond and called for intervention by the state's congressional delegation. "This is inhumane and despicable," Christopher said. "Putting a Wisconsin State Trooper behind bars while his asylum case sits unresolved does not make our communities safer. Wisconsin's congressional delegation should demand his release and demand answers."3
On Friday, the law firm said Van Der Merwe would be released subject to electronic monitoring and regular check-ins with immigration authorities. The agency did not immediately respond to an inquiry about the reason. Van Der Merwe came to the United States legally as a child at age 14 and has waited seven years for an asylum interview, the firm said.1,2,3
Video of his graduation ceremony last year showed his badge pinned on by his father in front of Wisconsin's governor. His family arrived during Donald Trump's first term. After Trump returned to office, he signed an executive order saying the United States would "promote the resettlement of Afrikaner refugees".2
The case unfolded as enforcement has extended to domestic and international airports, where travelers with visas, green-card holders and pending asylum cases have been detained. Some experts said the detentions are an effort to meet arrest quotas imposed on the agency by the White House. The law firm advised noncitizens with unresolved immigration paperwork to consult immigration attorneys before traveling by air. "Even if you have flown without problems before, do not assume the same will happen now," they said.2
"His release is welcome news. But our fight is not over. Carel will still have to defend his immigration case before an immigration judge," his attorneys wrote. "USCIS, an agency within DHS, authorized Carel to work. He used that authorization to serve and protect Wisconsin communities. ICE, another agency within DHS, then detained him. DHS owes this family more than silence," they wrote.2
