Beaufort Co. sheriff talks new ICE agreement; S.C. ACLU responds

BEAUFORT COUNTY, S.C. (WTOC) - We are learning more about the 287 (g) agreement that the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office recently signed.

Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner signed the agreement on July 29, and ICE approved it on July 31.

Through the agreement, the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office will be able to partner with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration laws.

The department entered into the Task Force Model.

“It’s been a forward progress,” Sheriff Tanner said. “We’ve got to identify staff, and the staff has to be trained.”

Once trained, two deputies 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.

South Carolina’s ACLU says they are deeply disappointed by the decision.

His decision disregards the voices of Beaufort County residents who spoke out in two public meetings and other clear demonstrations of community opposition, and it undermines public trust in local law enforcement. We must continue pressing sheriffs and elected officials to choose their community first over federal entanglement."

Dulce J. López, Immigrant Rights Advocacy Strategist at the American Civil Liberties Union of South Carolina

When we spoke to Lopez, she said that this agreement will strike fear in the county and could lead to more people not reporting crimes to law enforcement.

“We all want to see this country thrive and do well and succeed, but when we see this division and hatred, it only divides us even more.”

Other residents we spoke with were fearful of racial profiling and what they have seen from ICE across the country.

“If he does continue forward with it, we just hope that he engages positively with the community,” Member of Lutheran Services of South Carolina, Seth Hershberger said. “That he listens to the community and knows that trust has been eroding there and hopes to rebuild that trust.”

Sheriff Tanner says that he appreciates the people who voiced their concerns, but that he doesn’t expect to see those problems in Beaufort County, South Carolina.

“Very few comments and concerns were local issues,” Sheriff Tanner said. “We didn’t have problems when we had the program before, and I don’t expect that we’ll have any problems with the new program.”

Beaufort County previously used a similar program in 2008 and 2012.

We asked for copies of the previous agreements to see if they were like this agreement, but the Sheriff’s office says they no longer have them and were asked to discard the agreements when the program was previously discontinued.

The ACLU, in an article following the agreement being signed, mentioned that it will cost taxpayers more money.

Sheriff Tanner says that it is false, and it will cost next to nothing from the county to implement, besides paying for the deputies’ salaries, gear, and vehicles.

“No direct cost, indirect cost would be the funding that I have in my budget to hire two new deputies to do this, or recruit within the organization.”

Sheriff Tanner says that the trained deputies will likely start enforcing these laws in the coming months.