Beaufort Co. residents deliver letters to sheriff, condemn signing of ICE agreement

BEAUFORT, S.C. (WTOC) - Some residents in Beaufort County protested near the sheriff’s office on Thursday morning.

They oppose an agreement that Sheriff P.J. Tanner signed over the summer that allows his office to partner with ICE and enforce immigration laws in the county.

What started as a gathering of people voicing their frustrations at the corner of Ribaut and Boundary in Beaufort later evolved into the delivery of over 300 letters.

337 letters to be exact, addressed to Sheriff Tanner.

“We’re letting him know that we aren’t slowing down, we are opposed, and we are standing with our immigrant community,” Sun City Democrats President, Lynn Gerson said.

Each letter is different in style, but each is trying to get the same message across.

“Equal protection and due process matter,” Gerson said. “Human dignity matters, and we are calling him out for not showing that any of those things matter to him.”

The letters were written after residents attended two community meetings held over the summer, where Sheriff Tanner discussed the 287(g) agreement and an ICE operation last month in Bluffton that led to multiple arrests.

“People did not want him to do this because it takes away from protection from the community, it puts a rift between community members, and it’s costly,” Okatie Indivisibles member Lynn Reeves said.

Sun City Democrats organized the protest on Thursday morning and gathered on the sidewalk near one of the Sheriff’s office buildings.

They then walked several blocks towards the building and hand-delivered the letters.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner tells us that he appreciates the community coming forward and voicing their concern.

Organizers doubt the sheriff will respond to their letters, but he will know now how some of the community feel about the actions he took.

“He’ll know that there are constituents who will not vote for him. We have the power to vote, and we have the power to tell him what we, the people, want,” Reeves said.

As far as the latest in the agreement with ICE goes, we asked the Sheriff’s office if the two deputies have undergone training with ICE.

A spokesperson said not yet, but they will soon.

Once trained, they will be able to question individuals about their immigration status, arrest without a warrant, process immigration cases, draft charges, and hold and transport individuals on ICE’s behalf.

Organizers say this won’t be the last time the sheriff hears from them and that they will continue fighting for what they feel is right.