Kentucky
Kentucky Gov. Beshear, AG Coleman talk ICE in national TV appearances
Kentucky bill proposal would require police to partner with ICE
Senate Bill 86, filed Jan. 13 by Phillip Wheeler of Pikeville, would mandate participation in three models of ICE’s program. Here’s what to know.
Two of Kentucky’s most prominent statewide officials differed on the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies during separate national TV appearances Feb. 15.
Before Gov. Andy Beshear criticized Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in an interview with CNN’s “State of the Union,” which came days after he called for the removal of ICE agents throughout the country, Attorney General Russell Coleman blasted Beshear’s positions in an interview with Fox News.
“My view as the chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, someone who’s carried a badge and a gun, someone’s who been a federal prosecutor, (is) that statement that the governor made, it was absurd,” Coleman said.
Coleman’s comments came in response to takes Beshear dished on ABC’s “The View” Feb. 9, in which the governor said Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem should be fired and ICE “has to be reformed from the top down.” Beshear reiterated his stance when he went on camera again Feb. 15.
“ICE is out of control. They have an American body count,” Beshear said, in reference to the fatal shootings of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis. “… And their leadership attacks anyone involved in an altercation with ICE as a domestic terrorist before they even know the information. This is a group that thinks they can barge into an American’s home with an administrative warrant. We have to stand up (to ICE), and Democrats should be using their leverage to try to get reform and retraining.”
Beshear’s past comments about ICE have drawn widespread backlash from Republicans, including from ICE officials who fired back on social media. In the days since Beshear first offered his stance, however, Trump administration officials ended an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota, where as many as 3,000 agents were stationed. The shootings of Good and Pretti and the detention of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos during “Operation Metro Surge” sparked protests throughout the country, including in Louisville.
In his interview with Fox News, Coleman said “ICE is a great partner on many fronts” and there are “safer communities every day” because of ICE’s enforcement actions.
“I would encourage the governor to look around here in the commonwealth, because of the collaboration ― federal, state and local. ICE has been present here, the Department of Homeland Security … is a great partner. They’re out there every day making us safer, going after violent offenders. To eliminate them as a partner would make us less safe,” Coleman said.
The Courier Journal found at least 25 Kentucky law enforcement agencies have partnered with ICE as part of the 287(g) program, which allows allows state and local agencies to perform limited immigration enforcement functions under the oversight of ICE, including making arrests, serving warrants and identifying people without legal documentation who are housed within detention centers.
Courier Journal reporters Keely Doll, Marina Johnson, Katie Muchnick and Caroline Neal contributed. Reach reporter Leo Bertucci at lbertucci@usatodayco.com or @leober2chee on X, formerly known as Twitter