MADISON Immigration and Customs Enforcement conducted raids and arrested eight people at Global Polymer Industries and Manitou Equipment America in Madison on May 13, just days after Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was protested while she spoke at Dakota State Universitys commencement ceremony in the city.
Masked agents gathered in the parking lot of Manitou, and officers with ICE, Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations uniforms were stationed at various entrances, in addition to individuals from other agencies. The Madison Police Department also had an officer onsite as a Department of Homeland Security helicopter flew above Madison during the immigration raid.
Eventually, an unmarked vehicle backed through a garage door of Manitou with a Homeland Security Investigations public affairs officer and an agency-procured photographer gathered in the doorway. The photographer appeared to take pictures of individuals being placed into the vehicle.
As the vehicle departed from inside the Manitou Equipment America building, multiple human silhouettes were visible in the back seats, behind safety partition cages. No identifiable features were visible through the vehicles darkened back windows.
The Daily Leader did not witness agents at Global Polymer but received confirmation of their presence.
An ICE spokesperson released a statement to the Daily Leader around 1 p.m. on May 13:
Those arrested during the enforcement action at Manitou Equipment America and Global Polymer Industries have been presented for Federal prosecution for violations of U.S. law or were placed into deportation proceedings.
The arrests were based on information received by Homeland Security Investigations meant to investigate employers violating employment laws, the statement said, adding that people in violation of immigration laws may be arrested, detained or deported.
A Global Polymer spokesperson released a statement at about 2 p.m. confirming ICE agents were there.
Global Polymer is fully committed to compliance with federal employment verification regulations and it actively uses E-Verify to verify the work eligibility of all of its employees. Global Polymer was not the target of ICEs enforcement action today. Global Polymer respects the individual privacy rights of its employees, so it will not comment further on the ICE enforcement action that occurred today, the statement read.
A Manitou spokesperson confirmed ICEs presence in its Madison facility at about 4:45 p.m.
Manitou is committed to compliant employment of individuals in the United States and committed to operating a business compliant with United States laws. Manitous business operations were not interrupted as result of todays activity, the spokesperson said.
Social media and word-of-mouth reports mentioned other sites as possible targets of immigration enforcement, but various sources denied this assessment, and ICE only confirmed enforcement at Global Polymer and Manitou.
A follow-up statement was released by ICE at about 4:30 p.m. with additional information regarding the number of individuals arrested.
Three individuals alleged to be in the United States without authorization, including two from Nicaragua and one from El Salvador, were arrested at Manitou. Five were arrested at Global Polymer, including three from Nicaragua and two from Guatemala. They are being held by ICE before deportation proceedings, the second statement from ICE read.
These enforcement actions make it clear: illegal hiring practices arent limited to major metropolitan areas they are happening in small towns across rural America, and we will continue to hold violators accountable, wherever they operate, said Jamie Holt, HSI St. Paul special agent in charge, in the follow-up news release.
ICE had support from the Madison Police Department, South Dakota Highway Patrol, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, FBI, Internal Revenue Service, Drug Enforcement Administration, U.S. Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protections Air and Marine Operations and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
South Dakota Voices for Peace, a Sioux Falls organization that advocates for peace, criticized the action with a statement on social media.
ICE conducted raids in Madison, SD today. Today, families will have one less person at the dinner table. Today, children are scared to walk home from school, stated Taneeza Islam, the groups CEO.
A staff person with the Lake County Jail said no one was being held onsite following the raids.
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