Politicized Immigration Crackdown

For Immediate Release

July 28th, 2025

Sioux Falls, SD - State leaders are voicing deep concern over Governor Rhoden and Secretary Noem’s escalation of Operation Prairie Thunder, announced this week in partnership with the Department of Homeland Security and ICE.

South Dakota Highway Patrol officers, the Department of Corrections, and six National Guard soldiers will be tasked with assisting federal immigration enforcement. These actions include helping ICE with administrative duties, deportations, and the transfer of inmates for federal incarceration.

State Legislators argue that:

• State resources are being diverted from South Dakota priorities to enforce a federal immigration agenda.

• National Guard soldiers and Highway Patrol officers are being pulled away from public safety needs in their own communities.

• Immigrant families, workers, and rural communities face fear and uncertainty, while workforce shortages, healthcare, and infrastructure challenges go unaddressed.

• Civil liberties and due process protections risk being compromised by a system that now intertwines state law enforcement with federal immigration operations.

Minority Leader Sen. Liz Larson

"This operation sends the wrong message to immigrant families across South Dakota. While I agree that we need to hold criminals accountable and be tough on crime, this goes too far. It is especially worrying given the well-documented concerns about how ICE is currently operating."

"The pursuit of undocumented migrants is also producing harmful consequences for our agricultural sector, which overwhelmingly employs hardworking immigrants—some documented, some not—who are not the intended targets of enforcement. They are not criminals. We should not overlook the economic consequences and fear this embeds across our state. South Dakota deserves leaders who focus on community safety through prevention, not political stunts.”

Minority Leader Rep. Erin Healy

"I’m disappointed to see that our priorities are deeply misguided. We should be investing in people, not surveillance. Just last week, our state government slashed funding for families in poverty and now all of a sudden we have all these funds to throw at helicopters and state troopers in Sioux Falls. This is despite the falling crime statistics in the city."

"Immigrants are essential to our state. They work in health care, food processing, agriculture, and small businesses. They raise families here. They pay taxes. This operation with ICE creates fear and uncertainty for immigrant families. When we turn state troopers and DOC agents into ICE enforcers, we’re not protecting anyone. We’re tearing families apart, hurting our economy, and damaging trust with law enforcement."

"Operation Prairie Thunder is not about safety—it’s about fear and is a political stunt. Our Democratic legislators oppose this initiative because we believe in real solutions that actually make our communities stronger and safer."

For questions, please contact Dan Ahlers, Executive Director of the SD Democratic Party at dan@sddp.org or 605-940-3071.

Paid for by the South Dakota Democratic Party | www.sddp.org