In a collaboration across multiple levels of government, Gov. Larry Rhoden is announcing a new public safety initiative he said is going to “keep South Dakotans safe.”
Operation Prairie Thunder is broken down into two parts. The first is to enhance crime and drug enforcement operations. The second is to support Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
That first part is to be piloted in Sioux Falls starting in August and lasts for 5 months.
“We’re not here to reinvent the wheel. We’re here to support what works and provide some extra juice," said Rhoden at a press briefing Monday.
He said that juice is coming in many forms, including 10-15 Highway Patrol troopers, aerial assets like the SD National Guard Lakota helicopters and using state parole agents all to help existing local crime task forces in Sioux Falls.
He said while this is a pilot, his "vision is that this coordinated effort will be a model that can be replicated in other communities to help keep all of South Dakota safe.”
While exact dollars for the initiative aren’t known yet, Rhoden said he expects that money would come from the general fund.
Rhoden said a conversation with Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem is what led to the second part of Operation Prairie Thunder.
Sam Olson is the region's Field Office Director for ICE. He said while ICE has a big mission to do, it's "not a big agency” and that this partnership is expanding the department’s reach in South Dakota.
"I think going forward we hear a lot of talk about sanctuary cities and sanctuary jurisdictions, but we don’t often talk about the jurisdictions and the states that are willing to cooperate with us," Olson said. "So, this is the time when South Dakota is willing to cooperate with us, and I think we’re going to see an immediate significant impact on public safety throughout the state.”
More specifically, part two equips the Highway Patrol to assist with ICE actions, activates six South Dakota National Guard soldiers to assist ICE with administrative functions and enables DOC to work with ICE to deport current offenders and transfer violent offenders for federal incarceration.
Three of the SD National Guard soldiers will be stationed in Sioux Falls and the other three in Rapid City.
DOC is also assisting ICE with processions and transporting undocumented immigrants, something Secretary Kellie Wasko said won’t require additional resources.
