Wisconsin State Trooper Detained by ICE and Released Amid Immigration Dispute

Out of 16,292 people admitted into the United States under asylum rules this year, 16,287 were white South Africans, highlighting a federal focus contrasted with the sudden detention of 21-year-old Wisconsin State Trooper Carel Van Der Merwe.

Van Der Merwe was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers on November 5, 2026, at the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, while waiting to board a domestic flight to visit his parents in New Mexico. According to his attorney, Marc Christopher of the Christopher & De León Law Office, plainclothes ICE officers approached Van Der Merwe shortly after he cleared airport security.

Van Der Merwe explained that he had a work permit and a pending asylum case, but the officers reportedly stated they did not care before placing him in handcuffs and leg shackles and transporting him to the Dodge Detention Facility in Dodge County.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security described the action as part of a targeted enforcement operation at the airport. A DHS spokesperson stated that Van Der Merwe entered the United States in March 2019 with legal permission to stay until September 2019, but overstayed his admission.

DHS emphasized that work authorization or a pending application does not confer legal status in the United States. The trooper has been employed with State Patrol since July 13, 2025, the email said.

According to his legal representation, Van Der Merwe came to the United States from South Africa with his family around age 14 and is included on his father’s pending asylum application. Christopher stated that the family left rural South Africa amid attacks targeting farmers and has waited about seven years for an asylum interview.

Van Der Merwe holds a federal Employment Authorization Document valid until 2030 and graduated from the New Mexico Military Institute with a criminal justice degree before joining the Wisconsin State Patrol on July 13, 2025.

Following intervention by Republican U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, who reached out to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, officials stated the trooper would be released. A Friday afternoon statement from Republican U.S. The trooper will be released immediately and will be responsible for working with the appropriate authorities to resolve his outstanding immigration paperwork and address his legal status, the statement said.

By the evening of November 6, 2026, his attorney confirmed his release under an order of supervision requiring him to meet with ICE regularly and be monitored by an electronic device.

Van Der Merwe remains in removal proceedings and will be required to defend his case before an immigration judge.