Wisconsin State Trooper Detained by ICE at an Airport and Released a Day Later: He Holds a Work Permit and Has Waited Seven Years on an Asylum Case
A 21-year-old Wisconsin State Patrol trooper was detained this week by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as he prepared to board a domestic flight to visit family, and was released on November 6 under an order of supervision after a day in custody. The detention took place at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Dane County, Wisconsin. The trooper, Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, holds a valid work permit and is listed on his father's pending asylum application.
According to his attorney, Marc Christopher, who spoke with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Van Der Merwe was stopped by ICE agents on November 5 just after he cleared security at the airport, as he was about to fly to New Mexico to visit his family. Agents handcuffed him, shackled his legs and drove him to the Dodge County Jail. Christopher said he believes the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) tipped off ICE after Van Der Merwe bought his ticket. Van Der Merwe lives in Onalaska and has worked as a state trooper in Tomah for about the past year.
Christopher said Van Der Merwe came to the United States from South Africa with his family on visas at age 14, and that the family applied for asylum on the grounds that they were persecuted and a family member had been attacked; their case has been waiting to be heard for seven years. Van Der Merwe is listed on his father's asylum application, and his work authorization is valid until 2030. He previously lived with his family in New Mexico, earned a criminal justice degree there, and wanted to serve in the U.S. military but could not because he was not a permanent resident; he then researched which states would let him do similar work with his status and chose to become a trooper in Wisconsin.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said in a statement that Van Der Merwe entered the country in March 2019 with legal permission to stay until September 2019, that 'in defiance of our nation's laws, he overstayed his admission,' and stressed: 'Work authorization or a pending application do not confer legal status in the U.S.' The department said the detention was a targeted enforcement operation at the airport, and that he will receive due process, with his case to be heard in immigration court. Christopher pushed back, saying the family has been in the United States lawfully while waiting for their application to be decided, and called the department's assertion 'absurd and ridiculous.'
On November 6, Van Der Merwe was released from the Dodge County Jail under an order of supervision, which requires him to periodically check in with ICE, and he will likely be subject to electronic monitoring, potentially through an application on his cellphone; his supervisor, the head trooper in Tomah, was waiting to give him a ride. Christopher said he plans to speak with Van Der Merwe over the weekend about the next steps in his case, which is not over and must still be presented before an immigration judge. Christopher also said he hopes Wisconsin's congressional delegation takes note of the case and changes the way ICE can operate. (Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security)
Source: U.S. Department of Homeland Security
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：美国移民与海关执法局（ICE）总部大楼，位于华盛顿。本案当事人无开放授权照片，以执法机构总部大楼为配图。G. Edward Johnson 摄，CC BY 4.0，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement headquarters in Washington. No openly licensed photo of the trooper in this case is available; the enforcing agency's headquarters is shown. By G. Edward Johnson, CC BY 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
