Eight targeted in Madison immigration operation appear in federal court

Yahoo

16-05-2025

The federal courthouse in Sioux Falls, where men arrested on immigration-related charges made initial appearances. (John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
SIOUX FALLS — The eight men targeted in an immigration enforcement operation at two Madison businesses this week are accused of using fraudulent documents to get their jobs and had been under investigation for months.
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement inquiries that ultimately led to their detention and criminal charges began in February, according to documents filed in the U.S. District Court of South Dakota.
One of the men is accused of fraudulently misusing visas, permits and other documents. The other seven are each accused of one count of fraudulent use of identification documents. Each of the charges carry up to $250,000 in fines and up to five years in prison.
All but one of the men were arrested at one of the two businesses in Madison that employed them, Global Polymer Industries and Manitou Equipment America.
Men arrested in Madison among dozens of immigrants detained in South Dakota
Manitou received a $1 million tax break from the Governor's Office of Economic Development for an expansion in December of 2022. At that point, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was governor of South Dakota. Manitou's owner told South Dakota Searchlight during a 2023 tour that the business employed 250 people.
Noem was given an honorary doctorate and delivered a commencement speech to graduates at Dakota State University in Madison just days before the arrests. Approximately 200 people protested outside that event.
The details of each case vary slightly, but affidavits — sworn written statements — from two ICE agents allege the men used fraudulent identification documents and were working under names that weren't their own. The agents reviewed I-9 documents, which are used by employers to verify a person's eligibility to work in the U.S., and allegedly learned in February and March that the names on the documents were fraudulent.
Five of the men had signed the allegedly fraudulent I-9s in 2022, suggesting they'd worked under their adopted names for years. Two others signed I-9s in 2023, and one signed his in 2024.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Veronica Duffy signed the search warrants Friday that authorized the operation resulting in the arrests.
One of the men was at home, according to court documents. The rest were at work. In six of the affidavits, ICE agents allege the men admitted they'd been working under false names.
Five are from Nicaragua, two are from Guatemala, and one is from El Salvador, according to ICE.
On Thursday in Sioux Falls, Judge Duffy ordered that the men be held by the U.S. Marshals Service at least until a preliminary hearing can be held. That hearing, which will take place within the next 14 days, would offer the men an opportunity to challenge their charges, and to make arguments for pre-trial release.
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