(Sioux Falls, SD) — Ten state prison inmates are being handed over to federal immigration authorities for deportation as part of South Dakota’s Operation Prairie Thunder.
Governor Larry Rhoden says the move, approved yesterday by the Board of Pardons and Paroles, ensures the inmates won’t be released back into local communities. The inmates identified by immigration status and nearing sentence completion will now be transferred to ICE custody. Rhoden calls the cooperation between state corrections and federal agents “uncharted,” adding it saves taxpayers from housing what he described as “illegal alien criminals.”
The operation, which targets crime in the Sioux Falls area, has drawn local criticism after dozens of people spoke out against it at a recent city council meeting.
