Carel Van Der Merwe, a South African immigrant, was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) while he was traveling to visit family in New Mexico. Van Der Merwe, who came to the United States seven years ago at age 14, has been working legally under a permit issued by the Department of Homeland Security while his family's asylum case, pending since 2019, remains unresolved.

His attorney, Marc Christopher, said the arrest was a heavy-handed overreach. "He's risked his life to help out people in our community, and when you're going to indiscriminately pick him up, detain him, especially when he's done everything correctly that he can do. I think that people just found that to be an extreme overreach," Christopher said Monday.

Christopher questioned why ICE agents did not simply contact Van Der Merwe. "I would ask their agency why didn't you simply write him a letter or contact him; he would have presented himself. What is the utility of shackling him and throwing him behind bars?"

The case drew national attention after President Donald Trump appeared to reference similar situations during a Sunday interview on CBS's "60 Minutes." Trump said, "I get very good marks for getting the bad ones out. But I get hurt because we also took people that had good jobs, that created one violation for breaking of the law, and that was they came into the country illegally. I think it might be too tough, yeah."

Christopher responded sharply to the president's remarks: "To say that maybe this is an overreach would be a massive, massive understatement."

Van Der Merwe was released Friday night. His attorney credited public pressure and the efforts of U.S. Rep. Derrick Van Orden, a Wisconsin Republican, who he said spoke directly with Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about the case.

Van Der Merwe is expected to return to his State Patrol duties while awaiting an immigration court hearing in the coming months. His attorney said the family will continue fighting for permanent legal status. "We're gonna try to use every tool that's available to us to try to get this young man his lawful permanent resident status," Christopher said.

The arrest and swift release have intensified local debate over immigration enforcement tactics, particularly when they ensnare individuals with legal work authorization and no criminal record. For many in the community, the case underscores the human cost of aggressive detention policies and raises questions about due process for immigrants who are following the rules.