Crackdown finds 170 illegal immigrants in SC jail (Fort Mill Times)

Crackdown finds 170 illegal immigrants in SC jail

Published September 02, 2008

HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C. — A crackdown has identified 170 illegal immigrants in Beaufort County's jail, and the sheriff said he has heard the extra scrutiny is causing a number of people in the U.S. illegally to leave the area.

The county is two months into a three-month crackdown on illegal immigrants. Agents from the Immigration and Customs Enforcement are in the jail, helping to weed out any inmates who should not be in the U.S.

Sheriff P.J. Tanner tells The Island Packet of Hilton Head that the next step will be investigating companies suspected of hiring illegal immigrants.

Officials auditing county business licenses are expected to hand over the names of several companies suspected of hiring undocumented workers this week and deputies will look into both supervisors and workers, Tanner said.

The crackdown appears to have caused a number of illegal immigrants to leave the area, the sheriff said.

"We have heard through different sources in the county that there is a percentage of foreign-born illegals who have been voluntarily leaving the county, particularly those with children," Tanner said. "They don't want to be picked up for a traffic offense and then get tied up in deportation."

Community leader Juan Campos said the crackdown is causing fear. Business at his Mi Tierra restaurants has fallen 60 percent as his customers leave town, said Campos, who served as president of the Latin American Council of South Carolina before the group changed its name and focus.

The crackdown also is creating fears that deputies are stopping suspected illegal immigrants for minor violations like having a car light out just to check if they are in the country legally, Campos said.

"They are really breaking up families," Campos said.