DODGE COUNTY, Wisconsin. —
A Wisconsin State Trooper was arrested Thursday by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at the Dane County Regional Airport.
This happened during a targeted ICE operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, 21, is being held at a Dodge County immigration detention center.
Lawyer Marc Christopher is asking for Van Der Merwe to be released on bail, which is expected to take two weeks. He calls on DHS to support his immediate release and for Wisconsin’s congressional delegation to review the decision to arrest him.
WISN 12 News contacted the Department of Homeland Security after learning of Christopher’s detention.
There are some differences in their details that 12 News is working to clarify.
12 News also contacted the Wisconsin State Patrol, who did not respond to questions.
Enter the country
Lawyer
Van Der Merwe came to the United States legally from South Africa as a child and waited seven years for an asylum interview while boarding a domestic flight, according to his attorney.
Christopher said the family “went through the court process and waited seven years for an asylum interview. He is listed on his father’s current asylum application and has a federal work permit with an expiration date of 2030.”
EDS
DHS says Van Der Merwe entered the United States in March 2019 with authorization to stay until September 2019.
“In defiance of the laws of our country, he extended his admission,” DHS said in a statement to 12 News. “This illegal alien will be given due process and will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
Working as a state trooper
Lawyer
Van Der Merwe wanted to serve the United States. Because his pending immigration status prevented him from joining the military, he chose law enforcement, according to his attorney.
Van Der Merwe graduated with a degree in criminal justice from the New Mexico Military Institute and became a Wisconsin state trooper a year ago.
He lives in Onalaska and works in Tomah. His attorney said the State Patrol allows noncitizens with valid work permits to serve. Someone at the Tomah branch did not respond to questions Friday.
According to Van Der Merwe, “the officers said they didn’t care, handcuffed and shackled him, and transported him to an immigration detention center in Dodge County.”
“ICE says it goes after people who break the law. Here it arrested someone whose job it is to enforce it,” Christopher said in a press release.
EDS
“Let me be clear: Work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States,” DHS said in a statement to 12 News.
This is a developing story. Stay with WISN 12 News for the latest information.
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