ICE agents come to Bluffton area as part of deportation efforts, police say
Immigration officers were in the Bluffton area Friday for a “coordinated” operation targeting people who had failed to comply with deportation orders, local police said.
A video shared on social media showed over 15 men in handcuffs being walked out of the Bluffton Magistrate courthouse as agents stood by. Another clip showed agents loading detainees onto a white bus. The effort included agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, BCSO said in an alert Friday afternoon.
The sheriff’s office took part in the operation as part of its 287(g) task force agreement with ICE, which forms a partnership between the agencies and allows county deputies to enforce federal immigration law. Sheriff P.J. Tanner signed the contract last summer after significant pushback from some community members.
Beaufort County deputies assisted federal agents on Friday “by providing operational support, officer safety coordination, and logistical assistance during the operation,” BCSO’s alert read.
This report will be updated.
This story was originally published May 29, 2026 at 3:59 PM.
