ICE detains Wisconsin State Trooper, Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, who came to US legally as a child

Detailed summary

Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, a Wisconsin State Trooper who came to the US legally as a child, was detained by ICE at a Madison airport.

Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, a 21-year-old Wisconsin State Trooper, who came to the United States legally from South Africa as a child, is in federal immigration detention. He was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) at a Wisconsin airport while waiting to board a domestic flight on November 5, 2026.

Van Der Merwe, who lives in Onalaska and works out of the Wisconsin State Patrol's Tomah post, was detained at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison. His attorney, Marc Christopher, said the trooper informed ICE agents that he had federal work authorization and a pending asylum application but was detained despite presenting his documents.

According to his attorney, cited in a News 8 Now report, agents told Van Der Merwe they “did not care” about his work permit and asylum application before handcuffing him and transporting him to immigration detention in Dodge County.

Also…

Opening of the article, excerpted from Hindustan Times. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.