In Beaufort County, immigration is up, crime is not. It’s why we thrive | Opinion
Should the U.S. clog its southern border to stop illegal immigration? Yes.
Were efforts to stop it egregiously inept in the previous administration? Yes.
Should people suspected of violating the law be arrested, given due process and punished if laws were broken? Yes.
But should all undocumented immigrants be deported? No.
It makes no sense. Elements of the U.S. government’s new deportation push have been cruel, unconstitutional and based on lies, and they have no place in South Carolina.
On Hilton Head Island and in the surrounding area, we have seen a rise in the Hispanic population in recent decades. We have seen migrants be peaceful, industrious and hard-working. We have seen them give back to the community.
We have seen immigrants bring out the best in us as nonprofits and religious organizations work to fulfill biblical or ethical commands to care for outsiders.
A Latino food festival last year in a town park raised $107,432 for the Volunteers in Medicine Clinic that offers health care to all who live or work on Hilton Head or Daufuskie islands regardless of their ability to pay.
It is fair to say that we have seen immigrants become the backbone of the hospitality economy. Our area, particularly Hilton Head, remains desperate for workers.
There was a day when any politician could grasp the importance to the people of these four words: “It’s the economy, stupid.”
Instead, the public today is told it must rip apart the community — and its economy — because immigrants are murderers, dope dealers and gang members.
Facts tell a much different story. While immigration has increased, crime has not.
The “2023 Crime in South Carolina Annual Report” compiled by the South Carolina State Law Enforcement Division and released in September 2024, reports that crime rates decreased in the state from 2022 to 2023 in these areas: murder, sexual battery, robbery, aggravated assault, property crime, breaking and entering, larceny and drug law violations.
If we had leaders who would tell the truth instead of lying to stoke fear, division and hatred for political purposes, the public could be celebrating.
In South Carolina, SLED says, “the violent crime rate decreased by 5.8% from 2022 to 2023, the third consecutive yearly decrease.” It says, “The murder rate decreased by 5.9%; the overall number of murders also decreased by 8.3% from 2022 to 2023.”
The data from SLED shows that South Carolina is generally safe and that the vast majority of serious crimes are committed by white people (who make up about 63% of the population) and Black people (who make up about a quarter), not by Hispanics or Latinos (who make up about 8%).
As for “homicide circumstances” tied to alleged gang activity, the “gangland” total was one and the “juvenile gang” total was three in 2023.
In general terms, whatever South Carolina has been doing seems to be working.
Facts show that it is a gross injustice to label immigrants as rapists and murderers.
One area of concern in the SLED report is that Jasper County ranks second in the state in the greatest increase in violent crime rates, up 32.56% from 2022 to 2023.
But facts show zero need for masked and armed federal patrols to storm into our community and disturb the peace as images have shown in Los Angeles. A number of people told Beaufort County Sheriff P.J. Tanner that in a packed public meeting last week.
Law enforcement locally, statewide and nationally has forever been trying to root out gangs, murderers and rapists. And they’re doing a good job of it here despite new state laws that spur the prevalence of guns almost to the point of making them a prize in bubblegum machines.
Kudos to Tanner for facing the public and answering questions on a volatile topic. But we need to face reality, and guard against government overreach in our peaceful, diverse, thriving county.
This story was originally published July 13, 2025 at 5:00 AM.