Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner says his department is expecting a formal agreement from ICE within days — the next step toward rejoining a controversial federal-local partnership program that would deputize local officers to enforce immigration law.
The sheriff publicly confirmed the timeline Tuesday evening while addressing a standing-room-only crowd at the Bluffton library. All 168 seats were filled well before the 5:30 p.m. start. Dozens stood along the room’s perimeter.
This was the second packed meeting in weeks where Tanner fielded public questions about the 287(g) program — a partnership that deputizes local law enforcement officers to enforce immigration laws…