South Dakota Governor Larry Rhoden is extending the deployment of seven National Guard members assisting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement initiatives.
The guard members were initially deployed last fall in Sioux Falls and Rapid City to help ICE process deportations, as part of Operation: Prairie Thunder.
This week, Rhoden said the extension, which is covered by funding from the Trump Administration, will last until September 2027.
As that happens, immigration advocates say many people are expressing fear of ICE and their actions, including people who are in the county legally.
Taneeza Islam is executive director of South Dakota Voices for Peace, who said vulnerable communities are not safe right now.
Islam pointed to the case of Nathan Samudzi, a Yankton man who has lived in America since he was four, who was working towards citizenship.
ICE says Samudzi was targeted for deportation over drug charges, butSouth Dakota Public Broadcasting confirmed the most serious felony charges he faced were dismissed. He remains in a Minnesota detainment center.
Islam said there are likely other similar cases throughout the state, since ICE actions have ramped up the last two years.
