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