DANE COUNTY, Wis.– A Wisconsin State Patrol trooper from Onalaska has been detained by ICE.
21-year-old Carel Van der Merwe in being held in a detention center in Dodge County, according to lawyers from the Christopher and De Leon Law Office.
Van der Merwe came to the United States legally from South Africa as a child and has been working as a trooper out of Tomah, Wisconsin for almost a year. His lawyers say he has been waiting 7 years for an asylum interview with a pending application.
He has also has a work permit.
He was taken into custody while waiting to board a domestic flight at the Dane County Regional Airport.
