A Wisconsin state patrol trooper, whom federal immigration agents detained on Thursday at an airport, has been released from their custody.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents approached Carel Aaron Van Der Merwe, a South African national, as he waited to board a domestic flight, according to his law firm Christopher & De León.

Van Der Merwe, who immigrated to the US when he was 14, has been waiting seven years for his asylum case to be heard, his attorneys said in social media posts. In the meantime, he received work authorization, valid through 2030, to serve in Wisconsin’s law enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) defended Van Der Merwe’s detention in a statement this week, saying he had overstayed a 2019 visa.…