Perhaps nervous that the Legislature may still balk at building a new penitentiary, Governor Larry Rhoden may be working on a Plan B to reduce the need for more prison space in South Dakota. Yesterday he announced we’ll just start handing inmates over to Immigration and Customs Enforcement for deportation:
Today, Governor Larry Rhoden announced that the South Dakota Board of Pardons and Paroles (Parole Board) approved parole transfer to federal custody for deportation for 10 illegal alien criminals as part of Operation: Prairie Thunder.
“South Dakota taxpayers should not have to foot the bill for illegal alien criminals,” said Governor Larry Rhoden….
The inmates were identified by the Department of Corrections (DOC) based on their immigration status, low-risk classification, and proximity to sentence completion. Each case was reviewed by the Parole Board in accordance with SDCL 24-15A-41.1. The inmates will be transferred to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody for deportation proceedings, ensuring they are not released back into South Dakota communities.
The inmates that were paroled for deportation include:
- Jose Sanchez #78283, Mexico, multiple counts of Possession Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II);
- Yahia Hassan #77076, Sudan, multiple counts of Possession Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II), 3rd Degree Burglary, and Receiving/Transferring Stolen Vehicle;
- Patrick Morris #78412, Liberia, Grand Theft < $2,500 and 1st Degree Burglary;
- Dustin Buffalo #73336, Canada, Reckless Burning and Aggravated Assault;
- Mohammed Kromah #69826, Liberia, Aggravated Assault;
- Victor Pacheco #72401, Mexico, Aggravated Assault, and Possession of a Weapon in Jail;
- Deng Ayom #69779, Sudan, Discharge of Firearm at Occupied Structure;
- Mustafe Hamud #57019, Somalia, Distribution of Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II);
- Miguel Caveda Perez #77916, Cuba, 4th Degree Rape; and
- Bereket Mekonnen #77412, Ethiopia, 2nd Degree Burglary, Possession Controlled Substance (Schedule I & II), and Receiving/Transferring Stolen Vehicle [Office of the Governor, press release, 2025.08.13].
Hey! That’s a clever way for Governor Rhoden to get those inmates off his hands and make the Kristi Noem’s problem again! Before Noem left the Governor’s chair to figurehead Trump’s ICE, saddled him with her failed plan to build a new prison; the least he can do is make her responsible for reducing his prison costs.
Hmmm… forgive me for saying so, but a lot of those names and home countries suggest the inmates targeted for deportation are perhaps browner than the man issuing the order. Thinking along those lines, if Governor Rhoden wants to make a real dent in the prison population, maybe he could just deport all the indigenous inmates back to Indian Country. Send all of our incarcerated Lakota brothers and other tribal members back to reservations, and we’d reduce South Dakota’s state prison population by almost 40%.
Or maybe we could just stop throwing our Lakota brethren in prison at such disproportionate rates in the first place.