South Dakota
Governor to make call on immigration sanctuary cities ban after House passage • South Dakota Searchlight
A bill barring cities, counties or schools from acting as safe havens for undocumented immigrants in South Dakota is headed to the governor’s desk after a 62-6 vote in the state House of Representatives.
Lawmakers are considering several bills this legislative session dealing with immigration. Senate Bill 7, the first of those bills to pass both chambers, would prohibit the state and its political subdivisions from adopting any policy to prevent local law enforcement from cooperating with federal immigration authorities or disciplining officers who do.
There are no South Dakota cities or counties where police or sheriff’s deputies have refused to work with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), according to the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Mary Fitzgerald, R-Spearfish.
“Potentially, if we didn’t pass this legislation, maybe we would,” Fitzgerald said in response to a question from Rep. Kadyn Wittman, D-Sioux Falls. “This is really a proactive bill, a proactive step toward making our state safe.”
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The bill is meant in part as a statement of support on the state level for the immigration law enforcement actions undertaken by the Trump administration, Fitzgerald said.
“President Trump vowed to make America safe again, and as we’ve seen since January 20, he is living up to that promise with thousands of arrests and ICE detainers,” she said. “The South Dakota Legislature is not in charge of border security, but we are affected by the criminals who have entered the United States illegally.”
Wittman voted against the bill. There’s no need to address an issue if it doesn’t exist, she argued, but there could be unintended consequences. Migrant victims of domestic violence may be less likely to call for help for fear of detention, she said, and a statement of support for federal raids will serve to sour relationships between migrants and the members of law enforcement who may need their help investigating criminal activity.
The bill’s easy passage through the House – it cleared the House Local Government committee 12-1, with Wittman the lone opponent – follows an even smoother trajectory in the Senate. The upper chamber placed SB 7 on its consent calendar, passing it unanimously and with no debate alongside three other uncontested bills.
Gov. Rhoden’s office did not immediately respond to a question on whether he’ll sign SB 7.
Two other proposals tied to immigration advanced Monday, as well.
The Senate sent legislation to the House that would add language to state law and the state constitution saying it’s illegal for noncitizens to vote in South Dakota elections.
Federal law already says only U.S. citizens may vote in federal elections. But Sen John Carley, R-Piedmont, said there is nothing in state law specifying that a person must be a U.S. citizen to vote in South Dakota elections.
“We have always just assumed this is required,” Carley said.
His bill contains language to that effect and would also make voting by noncitizens a felony punishable by up to two years in prison and a $4,000 fine.
The other bill, from Sen. Taffy Howard, R-Rapid City, would ask voters to put similar language in the state constitution on Election Day in 2026. The constitution can only be amended by voters.
Asked by South Dakota Searchlight if the bills are redundant, Carley said his bill is needed to put a law in place with a penalty now while the Legislature waits to see if the ballot measure wins approval later.
Carley said the two bills are part of a “trifecta of safeguards” against noncitizens voting. The third bill, from Sen. Amber Hulse, R-Hot Springs, would require driver’s licenses and identification cards to indicate whether the licensee is a U.S. citizen. Identification is required to cast a ballot in South Dakota.
The Senate sent that bill to the House last week.
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PIERRE, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – South Dakota Supreme Court Justice Janine M. Kern made an announcement on Wednesday that she will be retiring from the bench on Dec. 8, 2025.
Justice Kern was appointed to the South Dakota Supreme Court in 2014 by Governor Dennis Daugaard to represent the First Supreme Court District, which includes Custer, Lawrence, Meade, and Pennington counties.
“It is with a heart brimming with gratitude for the trust and confidence placed in me, which gave me the opportunity to serve the people of this great state, that I notify you of my retirement on December 8, 2025, nearly twenty-nine years to the day of my investiture as a circuit court judge,” said Justice Kern.
“Justice Kern has always had an unwavering commitment to justice, the integrity of the courts, and a deep compassion for the people we serve. Her passion for law and for people has impacted all of us and made the court system better,” said Chief Justice Steven R. Jensen.
Justice Kern was appointed a circuit court judge in 1996 in the Seventh Judicial Circuit, comprised of Custer, Fall River, Oglala Lakota, and Pennington counties.
Before serving as a judge, Justice Kern received a Bachelor of Science from Arizona State University in 1982 and her juris doctor degree from the University of Minnesota Law School in 1985.
She later worked in a variety of roles with the Attorney General’s office, such as the appellate division, drug prosecution unit, and as director of the litigation division.
Justice Kern is a member of the American Law Institute, the State Bar Association, the Pennington County Bar Association, the American Bar Association Fellows, and past president of the South Dakota Judges Association.
“She has been an incredible lawyer, prosecutor, and judge for 28 years. I work with several young attorneys who look up to her as a role model, so her steady hand on the court will be missed. As I review potential appointments to replace her on the bench, I will be hopeful that we can find a future Supreme Court judge of her caliber,” said Governor Rhoden.
Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Throughout April, South Dakota community leaders Nikki Gronli and Julian Beaudion hosted town halls across the state allowing people to raise the concerns they have with the Trump administration.
Now they are back by popular demand with the next one coming up Wednesday evening.
Gronli and Beaudion have previously held town halls in Rapid City, Aberdeen, Vermillion and Sioux Falls, and every one saw a massive crowd.
Now the tour heads to Mitchell.
The popularity of the town halls resulted in changes in venues and people having to stand at meetings as attendees.
Panelists Nikki Gronli and Julian Beaudion delivered the 40-page report to South Dakota’s congressional delegation but only received feedback from Representative Dusty Johnson.
But both Gronli and Beaudion share optimism in the participation in political discourse throughout the state.
“What we saw from the citizens who attended these town halls is that there is still a lot of fight left in them, a lot of fight left in us, folks had no problem talking through some of the concerns,” Beaudion, a US Senate candidate said.
In previous meetings, attendees addressed concerns they had regarding cuts to Medicaid, the Department of Education, and from DOGE, as well as the effects of tariffs.
Now they are prioritizing town halls being more focused on one issue, this starts Wednesday in Mitchell at Dakota Wesleyan University.
“There’s a great farm community, so we decided we would do this one focused as opposed to the last town halls which we allowed people to cover whatever topic they wanted to, we thought we would switch it up and see what the response is like,” Gronli said.
Gronli expects a lot of questions as to what the next farm bill will look like and when it will be passed, the current one has been extended twice and passed in 2018.
She will have the help of another former USDA staffer to answer questions throughout the night.
“I also expect having Marcia Bunger there on stage as the former risk management lead that there will be conversations about crop insurance, the importance to our ag producers and what policies are being made around crop insurance,” Gronli said.
Dates haven’t been announced but town halls are planned for Brookings and Rapid City so far.
Dakota News Now reached out for comment to Senators Thune and Rounds and Representative Johnson, but we did not get a response in time for publication.
Copyright 2025 Dakota News Now. All rights reserved.
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