Reality Check is a new Sun News series holding those in power accountable, shining a light on local issues, and answering readers’ essential questions. Have a question or concern we can answer? Email online@thesunnews.com.
A South Carolina charter bus company has responded to a photo allegedly showing people who are in the U.S. “illegally” being transported to a Myrtle Beach hotel.
The photo, taken on Nov. 28, 2023, shows people exiting from a Sunway charters bus outside a Myrtle Beach hotel. The social media claim was that people were allegedly living in the country illegally and staying in hotels using taxpayer dollars.
However, the bus company, which has offices in Myrtle Beach but is based in Charlotte, North Carolina, said the passengers were a group of senior citizens from Minnesota who visited Myrtle Beach to attend the Alabama Theater and the Carolina Opry Christmas shows, according to Jacob Hooks, the company’s director of operations.
In addition, they were staying at the Island Vista Resort, not Hotel Blue, as initially reported in the social media post.
Hooks said the company has not been hired by any organization to transport those here illegally or refugees
Congressman Russell Fry sent a letter March 27 to Alejandro Mayorkas, secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, asking for information regarding reports of migrants being “deposited” in Myrtle Beach. The letter points to a recent article by The Sun News, which tried to answer questions from residents about whether those who are illegally in the U.S. were being brought by bus to hotels in Myrtle Beach.
A representative for Fry said Thursday that he “has received numerous inquiries from constituents regarding migrants being brought to the Myrtle Beach area.” Fry sent the letter to obtain more information and verify the claims, the statement said.
“Just this month, it was reported that hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants were flown from Latin American countries to 43 U.S. airports, and we know that illegal migrants are being bussed from border states into the interior of the country,” the statement said.
City of Myrtle Beach spokesperson Mark Kruea said Wednesday that the city is unaware of such efforts on any organization’s or entity’s behalf.
An attempt to clarify whether people are being transported to the Myrtle Beach area has spiraled into a series of emails and phone calls, resulting in several agencies’ failure to answer questions.
A message left with Homeland Security was returned but did not provide an answer to whether people were being transported to the Myrtle Beach area.
Lutheran Services Carolinas, which has a refugee relocation program, did not return a message Thursday.
A representative with South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster’s office referred questions to the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division which has an illegal immigration enforcement unit that enforces state and federal immigration laws.
Local law enforcement agencies routinely call SLED’s unit agents to assist with foreign nationals encountered in criminal investigations, whether victims or offenders, Renée Wunderlich, director of public information, said by email.
“While SLED has no confirmed evidence of mass transfers of illegal immigrants from the southern border to South Carolina, there is evidence of illegal immigrants being sent here who already have familial ties here or are being sponsored by non-governmental organizations,” Wunderlich said.
Wunderlich said SLED is not contacted by federal governmental officials or Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the movement of illegal immigrants.
Brandon Charochak, communications director for the Governor’s Office, said there is no direct evidence that those living in the U.S. illegally are being transported to the area, but that doesn’t mean it’s not happening.
Charochak said that the governor sent a letter to SLED Chief Mark Keel on May 11, 2023, regarding the expiration of the federal government’s COVID-19 public health emergency order known as “Title 42.” The law granted U.S. authorities emergency powers to help stop the spread of diseases. With the expiration of the law, the country returned to pre-pandemic laws that govern asylum and deportations.
At the time, news coverage showed that large numbers of immigrants from around the world were gathered at the Mexican-U.S. border, waiting to cross into the country illegally once the order expired.
In the letter, McMaster asked that Keel contact “each of our state’s commercial airports and direct them to immediately report any efforts to deplane or transport illegal immigrants at their facilities, along with information identifying the name(s) and vehicle information of those involved in facilitating said transport.”
Fry in the letter accused the President Joe Biden administration of overseeing the “nation’s worst migration crisis in U.S. history” that now has illegal immigrants “making their way into the interior of the United States,” including Myrtle Beach, which is “1,500 miles from our Southern Border.” Fry demanded answers to numerous questions, giving an April 5 deadline.
