By Mike McCombs
The Island News
Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner fielded questions for about an hour and a half about the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office’s potential involvement in the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 287(g) program on Tuesday, July 8, at the BCSO headquarters on Bay Street in Beaufort.
At a podium front and center, Tanner stood almost face to face with those asking the questions at a meeting hosted by County Council Chair Alice Howard (District 4), Council Member York Glover (District 3), Council Member Gerald Dawson (District 1), and Council Member David Bartholomew (District 2).
The event was only supposed to be question and answer. No long presentations and no debate. Tanner made it clear early on, the meeting was his. After an opening statement to clarify what the ICE 287(g) program is, Tanner would take questions.
“Now, you can talk about stuff that you’ve seen on the national media,” Tanner said. “You can talk about ICE agents running around in unmarked cars, wearing masks with no name tags. You can talk about all of that. But let me tell you something, folks. I told you when we started. If it’s not happening in Beaufort County, it’s not happening here.”
Tanner applied in February to form a task force with ICE, supposedly the most aggressive of three possible relationships between the two agencies. This is this the same model the BCSO took part in during the Obama Administration, though Tanner said he wouldn’t necessarily need five trained deputies this time.
Of the 150 or so people present, almost zero, excluding Tanner, were in favor of the 287(g) program.
“There was a lot of family separation, maybe unintentional, maybe intentional, where it was said you were going towards or trying to find criminals or someone who had committed a crime,” an early speaker said. “But a lot of people were affected that had not committed a crime. Are you aware of that? And, again, what, if anything, did you learn from that?”
“By Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office?” Tanner asked.
“That is correct.”
“OK, so, I’m not aware of that,” Tanner said.
In a back-and-forth exchange, Ana Ramirez suggested Tanner already had the tools to do his job effectively and that the 287(g) program was overkill that would cause more hurt than it would help.
“So the Cato Institute, which is very right-leaning, just in case anyone needed something right-leaning, has … evidence that other communities that have entered into this program diminish the reporting of crimes and people are less likely to serve as witnesses in criminal investigations. So why are you pursuing a policy that has been shown to erode public trust everywhere it has ever been tried, including Beaufort County, because it did happen?” Ramirez asked. “And if you need an example, in the time that you first deployed this program, your office took a family member of mine who had no reason to be taken. So you already have the jail model. You already have ICE.”
Tanner clarified that he doesn’t run the Beaufort County Detention Center.
“But it exists. It exists, and you have the ability, like you’ve said, you have one of the most innovative, progressive departments in South Carolina,” Ramirez said. “Your job is to protect and serve all, and right now you are not protecting my community.”
“We are,” Tanner responded.
“You’re not,” Ramirez said. “You’re endangering. You’re causing my community members to go into hiding.”
“No, I understand what you’re saying, but listen to me again,” Tanner said. “And let me make this point clear. If there was a criminal alien immigrant in your community creating crimes in your community, just leave the fact that you’re here illegally, just leave that over here on the shelf, OK? But he’s involved in other criminal activities, and he’s got a criminal record from another country, whatever country it might be. I’m not picking on any country. I’m just saying of another country. Wouldn’t it benefit us to be able to know everything we need to know about the person that’s committing crime in your community before we can appropriately deal with that person, either through the federal system or the state system?”
“Isn’t that contradictory to you? Is that important?” Ramirez asked. “That’s contradictory to you stating that you can effectively currently do your job. So are you saying you’re not able to do your job? Is that important that we move that? You already do that, though. You apprehend people when they commit crimes, and then at the jail, you put [on] the ICE detainer.”
“It also gives us the ability to do a better job in vetting and knowing who we’re dealing with,” Tanner said.
“You can go to a community. You already can do that,” Ramirez said. “You can identify a person of interest or a suspect, focus in on who that person is. Make sure that … visas are given to the victims. That happens without 287(g). That happens without 287(g).”
Sally Dombey was curious about the level of illegal immigrant crime in Beaufort County.
“Does Beaufort County have a problem with illegal immigrant crime? And if so, do we have the statistics to back that up? And then from what I’ve read, illegally entering this country the first time is a misdemeanor. So are we going to be prosecuting all misdemeanors with this amount of them and vigor and, frankly, venom?”
“I don’t think any cases of illegal entry into the U.S. … again, I put the fact that you’re here illegally on the shelf a while ago, and I told you that my interest is those that are here, if they’re here illegally or not, if they’re U.S. citizens in Beaufort County, S.C., I want to be able to know exactly who they are,” Tanner said. “That’s what NCIC gives us. That’s what the event system will give us if we have a contract to be able to access that system. The contract gives us the access to the information. OK?
“Y’all are looking at this as like we’re going to have 350 deputies out there running the streets of Beaufort County, picking up people from Walmart or the public. That’s not the case at all. “
Terry Murray thanked Sheriff Tanner for taking citizens’ questions, but then wanted clarification on what the program would cost the taxpayers of Beaufort County.
“I agree with almost everything and all the concerns that have been expressed here tonight,” Murray said. “I think there was one question that I was very interested in that you didn’t answer, if I understood correctly, and that was how much is this going to cost?”
Murray referred to the reported $4 million dollars the program cost Charleston County last year.
“I recognize that you’re an independent elected official, but County Council controls your budget. And so I would …”
“They approve my budget,” Tanner interjected. “They don’t control it. There’s a difference.”
“Perhaps you’re parsing words, and perhaps I don’t understand the …,” Murray said.
“Yeah, my budget’s approved through a process, and then once my budget is approved, then I’m responsible for the budget. But the approval process …”
“Well, let me help …”
“Well, no, just a moment, please. I’ll tell you how much it costs.”
“How much does it cost?” Murray asked.
“Directly or indirectly?” Tanner asked.
“Both,” Murray replied.
“OK, directly, nothing,” Tanner said. “Indirectly, a deputy, starting salary is $60,000. A vehicle, and all the issued equipment, $125,000. Directly, nothing.”
“Forgive me. I think this answer …”
“And that deputy has multiple responsibilities.”
“May I continue?” Murray asked.
“Yes, ma’am,” Tanner said. “I mean, I’m giving it to you.”
“I will respectfully say that I think this answer, like all of your answers, have been very disingenuous, and you’re talking down to us,” Murray said.”
“No, no” Tanner said. “No, when you ask a question on how much it costs, that is absolutely the cost. ICE does not charge Beaufort County to be a part of it. They do all the training, they provide all the technology, the training, and everything that we need to be able to do.”
County Council members from South of the Broad River have scheduled another question and answer meeting for Sheriff Tanner to answer questions about the ICE 287(g) program from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, July 22, at the Beaufort County Library Bluffton Branch at 120 Palmetto Way.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
