Wisconsin state trooper detained by ICE while boarding domestic flight to be released
By Taylor Lang, James Stratton
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DODGE COUNTY, Wisconsin (WISN) — A Wisconsin state trooper was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement at Dane County Regional Airport on Thursday.
It happened during a targeted ICE operation, according to the Department of Homeland Security. Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, 21, was being held at an immigration detention center inside the Dodge County jail.
After being held for roughly 24 hours, Van Der Merwe’s attorney told WISN 12 News he will be released Friday evening. ICE detainee logs show Van Der Merwe is out of custody. DHS did not immediately respond to questions as to why they were releasing him.
Van Der Merwe was flying to visit his family in New Mexico, according to his attorney, at the time of the arrest.
Attorney Christopher said Van Der Merwe will have to meet with ICE regularly due to an order of supervision, and he will be monitored by an electronic device.
“His release does not erase what he and his family have been through,” attorney Christopher’s office said in a release Friday. “There is still no explanation why DHS detained him or why exactly he is now being released. Those are the answers we seek and Carel and his family, and work community deserves. We continue to stress how DHS’s own agency, USCIS, authorized him to work. He used that authorization to serve and protect Wisconsin communities. Yet that same agency, detained him. We hope DHS will provide an explanation.”
WISN 12 News has also contacted the Wisconsin State Patrol, which said it was aware of the situation, but did not answer questions.
Entering the country Van Der Merwe came to the United States from South Africa legally as a child and has waited seven years for an asylum interview while boarding a domestic flight, according to his attorney.
Christopher said the family “followed the legal process and have waited seven years for an asylum interview. He is included on his father’s pending asylum application and holds federal work authorization bearing an expiration date in 2030.”
“They’ve been waiting on the same DHS to adjudicate the application for the last six years, and they also applied with the same DHS for work authorization that DHS provided them,” Christopher said.
DHS tells WISN 12 News Van Der Merwe entered the United States in March 2019 with permission to stay until September 2019.
“In defiance of our nation’s laws, he overstayed his admission,” DHS said in a statement to WISN 12 News. “This illegal alien will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings.”
“He’s not accumulating unlawful presence,” Christopher said. “He’s got a pending application in, but for their delay, that’s why he’s here. So, what’s the point of detaining him?”
Van Der Merwe has no criminal record.
“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 DHS spokesperson said.
Now that Van Der Merwe is released and under monitoring, he will be in the removal process and “… will now require him to defend his case before an immigration judge.”
Working as a state trooper Attorney
Van Der Merwe wanted to serve the U.S. Since his pending immigration status prevented him from joining the military, he chose law enforcement, according to his attorney.
Van Der Merwe graduated from New Mexico Military Institute with a degree in criminal justice and became a Wisconsin state trooper a year ago. Video obtained by WISN 12 News shows Van Der Merwe’s father pinning his state patrol badge on him during a ceremony in Nov. 2025. Wisconsin State Patrol says he’s been employed since July 2025.
Van Der Merwe lives in Onalaska and works out of Tomah. His attorney said state patrol allows noncitizens with valid work permits to serve. Someone at the Tomah branch did not answer questions Friday. Wisconsin State Patrol did not answer questions from WISN 12 News Friday, but did send a statement saying they were aware of the situation and confirming his employment.
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.”
“ICE says it is going after people who break the law. Here, it has detained someone whose job is to uphold it,” Christopher said in a news release.
DHS
“To be clear: work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States,” DHS said in a statement to WISN 12 News.
DHS did not answer several questions sent by 12 News.
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