Wisconsin state trooper detained by ICE to be released from custody Friday
MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) — A Wisconsin state trooper detained by federal ICE agents will be released from custody Friday night.
Attorney Marc Christopher said he spoke with his client, Trooper Carel Van Der Merwe, and ICE officials on Friday and was told Van Der Merwe would be released from the Dodge County Detention Facility and placed under supervision.
He said the 21-year-old lives in Onalaska and works out of Wisconsin State Patrol's (WSP) Tomah post.
Van Der Merwe was born in South Africa, and his family entered the United States in 2019 on a six-month visa when he was a teenager.
According to Christopher, the family immediately filed an asylum application, which has been pending for more than six years.
Christopher said his law firm received a call on Thursday from the Wisconsin Troopers Association, saying one of its union members was arrested by ICE agents at the Dane County airport.
"He had a couple days off from work, and he was planning on going to visit his parents who live in New Mexico," Christopher explained. "Shortly after he went through security, two plainclothes officers came up, asked him his name, they handcuffed him, shackled his legs."
According to Christopher, Van Der Merwe has a work authorization that is valid until 2030, permitting him to work as a Wisconsin state trooper for the last year.
A Wisconsin State Patrol spokesperson confirmed his employment in a brief statement to CBS 58 on Friday:
"WisDOT and its Division of State Patrol are aware of the situation involving Trooper Carel Van Der Merwe. The trooper has been employed with State Patrol since July 13, 2025."
"DHS knows where he lives, they know that he works for the State Patrol, they gave him the work card in order for him to be able to do that," Christopher said.
Under federal immigration law, that does not make him immune to deportation.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security sent this statement to CBS 58:
"On November 5, ICE arrested Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, an illegal alien from South Africa, during a targeted enforcement operation at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin. He entered the country in March 2019 with legal permission to stay until September 2019. 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.
To be clear: work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States.
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."
"Did Carel have any idea, any concern when he got to the airport that something like this could happen?" asked CBS 58 reporter Jenna Wells.
"Absolutely not, none whatsoever. This is totally out of the blue," Christopher responded. "If there was anything they needed from Carel, they could have picked up the phone or sent him a letter, but they want to make a show of it."
The ICE spokesperson called Van Der Merwe's arrest a "targeted enforcement operation."
Christopher said his client is not a criminal, a threat or a flight risk.
"Carel is risking his life to serve the people of western Wisconsin," he said. "For him to be targeted for any reason, I just can't imagine that there's any legitimate public interest in going after him."
The Wisconsin Troopers Association did not respond to CBS 58's requests for comment, but Christopher said the union has been "very supportive" of Van Der Merwe.
In a statement on social media Friday night, the Christopher & De León Law Office said while Van Der Merwe will be released, they still have to fight his immigration case in front of a judge.