This week (July 28, 2025), South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden announced the creation of Operation: Prairie Thunder – a comprehensive, targeted public safety initiative to protect South Dakotans, especially in the Sioux Falls metro area.
“We are keeping South Dakotans strong, safe, and free. When it comes to safety, one of our biggest opportunities to move the needle is right here in Sioux Falls, and that’s where Operation: Prairie Thunder comes in,” said Governor Larry Rhoden. “We are taking decisive action to hold criminals accountable and protect our communities.”
Prairie Thunder has two main components:
- A targeted anti-crime initiative in the Sioux Falls metro to interdict drugs, investigate gang activity, hold parole absconders accountable, and deter lawlessness; and
- A comprehensive effort to support the work of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) secure our borders and deport illegal alien criminals.
The targeted anti-crime initiative in the Sioux Falls metro includes:
- Providing 10-15 Highway Patrol troopers for monthly saturation patrols over the next five months;
- Deploying aerial assets including the South Dakota National Guard (SDNG) Lakota helicopters and the South Dakota Highway Patrol airplane to help with drug interdiction and traffic enforcement;
- Utilizing Department of Corrections (DOC) Parole Agents and the Absconder Apprehension Unit to assist with apprehensions and lists of fugitives, absconders, and other intelligence; and
- Coordinating all efforts through the existing local crime task forces in the Sioux Falls area.
The comprehensive effort to support ICE’s work includes:
- Equipping the South Dakota Highway Patrol to assist with ICE’s actions to keep America safe – a partnership that the Governor previously obtained;
- Activating six SDNG soldiers to assist ICE with administrative functions; and
- Enabling DOC to work with ICE to deport offenders and transfer violent offenders for federal incarceration and assist ICE with processing and transportation of illegal alien criminals.
“Our work alongside ICE boils down to this: Highway Patrol will support ICE with arrests. The National Guard will support ICE with processing and administrative functions. And DOC will support ICE with transportation, identifying illegal immigrants in our prisons, and getting them paroled to ICE custody,” continued Rhoden.
To facilitate the DOC component of supporting ICE, Rhoden sent a letter of intent for a 287(g) agreement between DOC and Ice under the Jail Enforcement Model. He sent this letter to the Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and Acting Director of ICE Todd Lyons. You can find the letter here.
| However, state Democratic 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:
|
|
Sen. Liz Larson Minority Leader District 10 “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.” |
|
Rep. Erin Healy
Minority Leader
District 10
“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.”
Comments