ICE arrests Wisconsin state patrol trooper with pending asylum case at airport, attorneys say

ICE detained a Wisconsin state patrol trooper with a pending asylum case at an airport, his attorneys said Thursday.

Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, an asylum-seeker from South Africa who has a valid federal work authorization, was detained by ICE as he waited to board a domestic flight, according to a statement from the Christopher & De Leon Law Office released Thursday and obtained by NBC affiliate WEAU. He is currently being held at a detention facility in Juneau, Wisconsin, ICE records show.

According to the attorneys’ statement, Van Der Merwe tried to explain that he had a valid work permit and has a asylum application, but the ICE officers “said they did not care, placed him in handcuffs and shackles, and transported him to immigration detention.”

The 21-year-old came to the country legally as a child from South Africa and is included in his father’s asylum application, according to the statement. He has been a Wisconsin state patrol trooper for nearly a year, his attorneys said.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement to NBC News, “To be clear: work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the U.S.”

ICE arrested Van Der Merwe during a targeted enforcement operation at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, on Thursday, DHS said in a statement.

“He entered the country in March 2019 with legal permission to stay until September 2019,” the spokesperson said in the statement. “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.”

“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.

Attorney Marc Christopher, who represents Van Der Merwe, said in a statement that the arrest was “inhumane and despicable.”

“Putting a Wisconsin State Trooper behind bars while his asylum case sits unresolved does not make our communities safer,” he said.

In another statement, Christopher said, “Wisconsin trusts Carel to protect the public.”

“DHS owes his family and our community an explanation of why keeping him behind bars is necessary,” he said.