ICE detained Wisconsin state patrol trooper Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, on Thursday while he was waiting to board a domestic flight. He was taken into immigration detention as his attorneys said he has a pending asylum application and a valid federal work authorization.
Van Der Merwe at Dane County Regional Airport
Van Der Merwe is an asylum-seeker from South Africa and has been with the Wisconsin state patrol for nearly a year. His attorneys said he tried to explain that he had a valid work permit and a pending asylum application before ICE officers placed him in handcuffs and shackles and transported him to detention in Juneau, Wisconsin.
Marc Christopher called the arrest “inhumane and despicable.” Christopher also said, “Putting a Wisconsin State Trooper behind bars while his asylum case sits unresolved does not make our communities safer,” adding, “Wisconsin trusts Carel to protect the public.”
DHS on Van Der Merwe
DHS said ICE carried out the arrest during a targeted enforcement operation at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, on Thursday. DHS said Van Der Merwe entered the U.S. in March 2019 with legal permission to stay until September 2019, and that he overstayed his admission.
A DHS spokesperson told News, “To be clear: work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the U.S.” The same spokesperson added, “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.”
Juneau, Wisconsin detention
Van Der Merwe is being held at a detention facility in Juneau, Wisconsin, while removal proceedings move forward. Christopher said, “DHS owes his family and our community an explanation of why keeping him behind bars is necessary,” but DHS said Van Der Merwe will remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.
The case turns on the gap between work authorization and immigration status: Christopher says Van Der Merwe has permission to work and a pending asylum case, while DHS says those facts do not give him legal status in the U.S. That leaves Van Der Merwe in custody in Juneau while the removal process runs its course.
