By Lolita Huckaby
ST. HELENA ISLAND
Any community gathering on St. Helena can be expected, these days, to include conversation about the proposed Pine Island development.
But that wasn’t the case last week, when members of the Beaufort County Council, during one of their “Chat With Council” forums, got an earful about Sheriff P.J. Tanner’s working relationship with the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, or ICE.
Back in March, Tanner said he would be pursuing an agreement to participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, a working agreement which would allow the local deputies to carry out immigration policies. Beaufort County was part of the 287(g) program in the early 2000’s until it was reduced during the Obama administration.
The department applied again for 287(g) designation in 2017 but never received that authorization. The proposal, once it became public, was protested by several community demonstrations.
Post and Courier reporters, in a June 20 article, stated more than 20 law enforcement agencies in South Carolina, including the State Law Enforcement Division, or SLED, applied for and were accepted into the program. Nationwide, the number of participating law enforcement agencies has increased to 700 since the beginning of the year.
Tanner, in the same Post and Courier article, told the reporter his deputies “would not be going to Walmart and doing identity checks.”
Audience members at last week’s “Chat With Council” asked the County Council members to put a stop to the ICE relationship, which they described as an illegal practice leading to racial discrimination and potential harassment. But Council members were quick to respond they didn’t control the sheriff since he’s an elected office.
Several speakers reminded the elected officials they did have control over the sheriff’s annual budget, which happens to be $35.9 million out of the total $199 million 2026 Beaufort County budget.
Council members said they had discussed similar concerns with Tanner but were assured the agreement would not lead to improper arrests or racial profiling.
“He stressed that if anyone had a problem, they could certainly call him,” said one council member.
For the record, it’s 843-255-3200. Good luck.
Pine Island on hold until cooler weather
ST. HELENA ISLAND – While there was only a passing reference to the proposed gated community development on Pine Island at last week’s “Chat With Council,” the rezoning request for the 500-acre, 49-home neighborhood has not gone away, simply taking a summer hiatus.
Although the County Council voted in Sept. 2024 to reject the request to remove the property from the Cultural Protection Overlay zoning district, Elvio Tropeano and developers of the isolated island near Dulamo came back in May with new lawyers, asking for a rezoning and promising a community center. The County Planning Commission rejected that request unanimously.
The request moved to the County Council Natural Resources Committee which decided to take a summer break and delay the discussion until probably their September meeting.
In the meantime, there appears to be little movement in the two legal challenges the Pine Island folks filed against the county as part of the permitting process which began back in November 2022.
Lolita Huckaby Watson is a community volunteer and newspaper columnist. In her former role as a reporter with The Beaufort Gazette, The Savannah Morning News, Bluffton Today and Beaufort Today, she prided herself in trying to stay neutral and unbiased. As a columnist, these are her opinions. Her goal is to be factual but opinionated, based on her own observations. Feel free to contact her at bftbay@gmail.com.
