Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, 21, was taken into custody Thursday during what the Department of Homeland Security described as a targeted ICE operation. He had been held at an immigration detention center inside the Dodge County jail before his release. ICE detainee logs confirmed he was out of custody Friday.

Van Der Merwe, who lives in Onalaska and works out of Tomah, was flying to visit family in New Mexico when he was detained, according to his attorney. He came to the United States from South Africa legally as a child and has been waiting seven years for an asylum interview, his attorney said. He is included on his father's pending asylum application and holds federal work authorization valid through 2030.

"His release does not erase what he and his family have been through," his attorney's office said in a statement Friday. "There is still no explanation why DHS detained him or why exactly he is now being released. Those are the answers we seek and Carel and his family, and work community deserves."

The statement continued: "We continue to stress how DHS's own agency, USCIS, authorized him to work. He used that authorization to serve and protect Wisconsin communities. Yet that same agency, detained him. We hope DHS will provide an explanation."

DHS said in a statement that Van Der Merwe entered the United States in March 2019 with permission to stay until September 2019 and overstayed his admission. "This illegal alien will receive due process and remain in ICE custody pending removal proceedings," the agency said before his release. DHS did not respond to questions about why he was released.

A DHS spokesperson also said the agency had reversed what it called a "horrendous Biden-era policy" that allowed undocumented immigrants to fly domestically. "Under President Trump, DHS will no longer tolerate this," the spokesperson said. "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."

Van Der Merwe's attorney disputed the characterization, saying his client is not accumulating unlawful presence because his asylum application is pending. "He's got a pending application in, but for their delay, that's why he's here," the attorney said. "So, what's the point of detaining him?"

Van Der Merwe has no criminal record. He graduated from New Mexico Military Institute with a degree in criminal justice and became a Wisconsin state trooper a year ago. Video obtained by WISN 12 News shows his father pinning his state patrol badge on him during a ceremony in November 2025. The Wisconsin State Patrol confirmed he has been employed since July 2025 and said it was aware of the situation but declined to answer further questions.

His attorney said Van Der Merwe wanted to serve the U.S. but was unable to join the military due to his pending immigration status, so he chose law enforcement. The state patrol allows noncitizens with valid work permits to serve, according to the attorney.

Van Der Merwe described the arrest to his attorney, saying officers told him they did not care about his work authorization, placed him in handcuffs and shackles, and transported him to immigration detention in Dodge County.

"ICE says it is going after people who break the law. Here, it has detained someone whose job is to uphold it," the attorney said in a news release.

DHS countered that "work authorization does not confer legal status in the United States."

As a condition of his release, Van Der Merwe must meet regularly with ICE under an order of supervision and will be monitored by an electronic device. He will now have to defend his case before an immigration judge as part of the removal process.

The case has drawn attention to the Trump administration's aggressive immigration enforcement tactics and raised questions about how federal agencies coordinate—or fail to coordinate—on work authorization. For Wisconsin communities, the detention of a state trooper sworn to protect the public underscores the far-reaching consequences of immigration policies that critics say prioritize enforcement over due process and family unity.