A Wisconsin state trooper says President Donald Trump’s immigration agents put him in handcuffs and shackles as he waited to board a domestic flight Thursday, even after he told them he had a work permit and a pending asylum application, ABC News reported.
On Friday, Rep. Derrick Van Orden (R-WI) said Van Der Merwe would be released “immediately” after the congressman called Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, WKBT reported.
“According to Van Der Merwe, the officers said they did not care, placed him in handcuffs and shackles, and transported him to immigration detention in Dodge County,” the law firm Christopher & De León said.
Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, 21, had faced deportation to South Africa, according to his attorney, Marc Christopher. His lawyers say he came to the U.S. legally as a child, has waited seven years for an asylum interview and has a work permit valid through 2030.
“This is inhumane and despicable,” Christopher said. “Putting a Wisconsin State Trooper behind bars while his asylum case sits unresolved does not make our communities safer. Wisconsin’s congressional delegation should demand his release and demand answers.”
The Department of Homeland Security told ABC News that ICE arrested Van Der Merwe in a targeted operation at Dane County Regional Airport in Madison. DHS said he entered the U.S. legally in March 2019 and overstayed his authorized admission, which expired that September.
Before Van Orden’s announcement, the agency said he would remain in custody pending removal proceedings, ABC News reported Friday.
An ICE database showed Van Der Merwe was being held in Juneau, Wisconsin, according to the outlet. Christopher had said he would seek his release on bond.
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