Kentucky
Trump immigration order leaves Kentucky Refugee Ministries facing cutbacks or closure
Large crowd protests Trump immigration crackdown at Florida Capitol
More than 100 people gathered at the Florida Capitol on Monday to protest the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.
An immigration non-profit that has worked in Kentucky for nearly four decades faces the possibility of reducing staff or even ceasing operations altogether.
Kentucky Refugee Ministries, which operates offices in Louisville, Lexington and Covington, said it may be unable to provide services if the executive order signed by President Donald Trump that suspended refugee resettlement programs remains in effect.
KRM receives 90% of its funding from federal grants, KRM spokesperson Alex Miniard told The Courier Journal.
“We’re having to really evaluate what we need to do in order to continue,” Miniard said. “A lot of offices across the country are already closing down fully or heavily reducing staff. And sadly, some of those options — it looks like that’s going to happen here at KRM.”
The news comes just days after the Kentucky Equal Justice Center in Lexington, a non-profit poverty law advocacy center that includes the Maxwell Street Clinic for immigration law, announced they would have to suspend operations because of financial constraints.
Community partners and more than 350 individual donors provided enough support for KEJC to remain open with reduced staff for at least six months, per its website.
“We’ve been around for 35 years now and provided services for about 40,000 people in that time,” Miniard said of KRM. “We have every intention of staying committed to that mission, but it’s coming down to we need a heavy amount of outside funding and community support, of donations, in order to ensure that those services and our staff and our organization are all preserved.”
On Jan. 20, the U.S. Department of State ordered the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants to stop all work for refugee resettlement, including suspending all refugee admission and assistance for those already in the country. Federal funding has been paused.
For decades, the federal refugee program — a legal form of migration to the U.S. — has helped those escaping natural disasters, torture, human trafficking, religious persecution and war with legal, social and health services.
Since the program was unanimously passed by Congress in 1980, it has safely resettled more than 3 million refugees, according to the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants.
“Religious organizations shoulder the bulk of refugee resettlement work in the United States,” according to the Associated Press. “Out of the 10 federally funded national agencies that resettle refugees, seven are faith-based.”
Kentucky Refugee Ministries is approved to welcome refugees through the State Department. It provides services for refugees and asylum seekers from war-torn countries like Congo, or Cuba, following restored diplomatic relations between the U.S. and the island nation. It offers comprehensive services, starting with cultural orientation and employment and continuing to citizenship and naturalization.
The funding provides refugees further opportunities beyond being settled in the state, such as job readiness or resume-building workshops and even providing work items, such as uniforms or footwear.
According to KRM, Kentucky holds the largest Congolese population. Louisville is second, behind Miami, for the largest Cuban population.
Public data related to the American Community Survey, which offers a one- and five-year look at a community’s changing population, was removed from public-facing federal websites on Friday following directives from the Trump administration.
Amos Izerimana, the director of Louisville’s Office of Immigrant Affairs, is an immigrant who arrived in Louisville in 2007 from a refugee camp in Tanzania.
“Kentucky Refugee Ministries plays a crucial role in connecting with newcomers and ensuring they have the necessary tools, resources, and support to begin a new life in Louisville,” Izerimana said in a statement to The Courier Journal. “It is very important they have access to the funding they need to provide these services throughout our community.”
Trump’s suspension of the program also canceled the travel and family plans for thousands of refugees, some of whom had gone through a yearslong vetting process, including more than 1,6000 Afghans who assisted the U.S. in war efforts.
At least 105 refugees who were supposed to be resettled by KRM had their travel plans canceled, including a few Afghan refugees who were family members of those who assisted in the war efforts.
Of those refugees headed to Kentucky, Miniard said many were also medically vulnerable and had experienced lots of trauma because that’s where KRM specializes its support.
“What do you do?” she asked. “What do you tell these people?”
Kentucky also accepted a higher number of immigrant arrivals before January 2025 in anticipation of the program’s suspension, leaving those new to the state with potential access to fewer services.
“Those people who have initially arrived — the first 90 days, especially — they are in need of a very high level of support,” Miniard said. “Leaving those people even more vulnerable to homelessness, starvation or losing the home that they just got, that they waited years for safety to have — and then to take that away … That’s something that’s really hard for all of us and a lot of the community that supports us to reconcile with.”
Only two other affiliates are listed for Kentucky under the federal office for refugee resettlement: Catholic Charities of Louisville and the International Center of Kentucky, in Owensboro and Bowling Green.
Amber Duke, the executive director for the ACLU of Kentucky, said the state’s current infrastructure is unable to meet the need for immigrants.
“Thinking about these drastic pullbacks on services, it’s absolutely devastating,” Duke said. “Behind the numbers are clients and people and families who are depending on these services.”
If refugee resettlement agencies reliant on government grant funding were unable to provide services, those core services would have to be covered across different sectors — many of which also have limited funding, such as housing.
“It’s challenging during this time, especially for folks who have previously experienced this trauma,” Miniard said. “They think they’ve finally experienced safety and then they start to hear this kind of rhetoric … and they think, ‘Oh no. This is happening again. I’m not safe.’ Imagine what that does to trigger fear and anxiety? People are scared.”
Stephanie Kuzydym is an enterprise and investigative reporter. She can be reached at skuzydym@courier-journal.com.
Keely Doll is a communities reporter. Reach her at kdoll@courierjournal.com.
Kentucky
Trump takes his war against Thomas Massie straight to his home Kentucky district
WASHINGTON — President Trump will use his stop in Kentucky on Wednesday to try to get his congressional nemesis out of office.
His target is Rep. Thomas Massie, a seven-term congressman who the White House has named the “Democrats’ favorite member.”
Trump endorsed Massie’s primary opponent, Ed Gallrein, who will be at the event in Hebron, Ky., per his campaign. The president will also be making a stop in Ohio.
Hebron is located in Boone County, Ky., just south of Cincinnati.
The White House made its feelings on Massie clear.
“You can have differences, but you have to be constructive. He is not constructive. In fact, he’s the Democrats’ favorite member,” a senior administration official told The Post.
Massie has outraged the White House on multiple occasions: he refused to support Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill,” which was the president’s signature domestic policy agenda; he criticized Trump’s foreign policy and accused him of executive overreach on the attacks on drug boats and Iran; and he led the charge on demanding the Justice Department release all its files in the Jeffrey Epstein case.
Now Trump is going to Massie’s district along the Ohio River to campaign against him, with the primary election just a little more than two months away, on May 19th.
Massie won’t be there.

“Congressman Massie will not be attending as he has a previously scheduled official event,” his campaign told The Post.
Trump has railed against Massie as “the worst Republican.”
He took a swipe at his biggest naysayer when he spoke to House Republicans at their retreat at Trump Doral on Monday.
“The Republican Party has fantastic spirit, the level I don’t think has been seen before,” Trump said. “We have to get a couple of people on board, which at least one case is virtually impossible. I wonder who that might be, sick person.”
It’s believed he was talking about Massie, who was not seen in the audience.
In contrast, Gallrein, a former Navy SEAL, has praised Trump, his policies and his handling of the war in Iran.
For his part, Massie has been posting Trump’s videos and comments attacking him, hoping to turn the criticism from the president into support from voters.
The May primary will be a test of Trump’s power with Republican voters. It’ll also be seen as a barometer of Trump’s messaging on the economy.
The White House has argued the cost of living is down but rising gas prices – from the attack on Iran – have dominated the news. Still, the president will tout his work on the issue.
“President Trump will visit the great states of Ohio and Kentucky on Wednesday to tout his economic victories and detail his administration’s aggressive, ongoing efforts to lower prices and make America more affordable,” White House spokesperson Liz Huston told The Post.
Kentucky
Northern Kentucky Norsemen claim Kentucky state hockey championship
Northern Kentucky brought home the Kentucky High School Hockey league state championship once again.
The Northern Kentucky Norsemen defeated Owensboro in dominant 5-0 fashion on March 8 to hoist the trophy. The Norsemen, comprised of players from schools across Northern Kentucky, earned their fourth state title since 2017. The Norsemen previously won in 2017, 2019 and 2023.
After entering the tournament as the top-seeded team, two wins brought the Norsemen to a 27-12-2 final record.
The Norsemen’s defense was in peak performance in the finals. Despite Owensboro getting off over 30 shots, senior goalkeeper Chase Bender kept a clean sheet.
On offense, junior Trevor Bauwens led the Norse, finishing the season with 35 goals and 12 assists. Other key offensive performers were seniors Mitchell Kirby and Samuel Mouser. Kirby ended the year with 19 goals and 22 assists, while Mouser had 16 goals and a team-best 30 assists.
Northern Kentucky is now set to represent the state in the USA Hockey High School National Championships. The tournament be held March 18-22 in Plymouth, Minnesota.
Kentucky
Data centers, election changes and other bills moving in Kentucky
Facts About the Kentucky General Assembly
Discover key facts about the Kentucky General Assembly, including its history, structure, and state government functions.
FRANKFORT, Ky. — If the current legislative session was the Kentucky Derby, we’d be coming around the final turn and entering the stretch.
Feb. 9 marks the 42nd day of the 2026 Kentucky General Assembly, with 18 to go. Lawmakers will continue to meet daily for the next three weeks until the veto period begins in early April, with two more days at the Capitol after that for legislators to vote on overriding potential vetoes.
The filing deadlines for new bills were last week, and many pieces of legislation are moving quickly in Frankfort. Here’s a quick look at bills that advanced last week that will be worth watching:
SB 8 — A reworked PSC
Senate Bill 8 would change the member requirements for the Kentucky Public Service Commission — which regulates more than 1,100 utilities operating statewide — and add two new members who would be appointed by the state auditor, effectively diluting the governor’s power or oversight of PSC membership.
Under the bill, the chair of the commission would be elected amongst the commissioners, not appointed by the governor. The chair’s salary? Also determined by the commissioners.
Sen. Brandon Smith, R-Hazard, the bill’s sponsor, said the legislation will help support Kentuckians in reviewing utility rate cases and hopefully hasten the process.
Critics of the bill raised concerns about a section that would make the attorney general the sole representative for customers, requiring advocacy groups to prove a “special and unique” interest in the case — likely cutting advocacy groups out of the picture and preventing them from intervening in cases.
While on the floor, Smith introduced an amendment removing that section and creating a framework to allow advocates and organizations with legitimate interests to intervene.
Although the bill has passed the Senate, it will likely receive pushback from the governor’s office. In a Team Kentucky press conference, Democratic Gov. Andy Beshear criticized the bill and the Republican-led legislature’s attempts at moving power from the governor’s office to the state auditor.
“They’ve done these shenanigans for six straight years,” Beshear said. “This is my sixth session as a governor, four as attorney general and a couple of special sessions. I’ve never seen them try to move something from a Republican officeholder to a Democratic officeholder, but I’ve seen them try to move a whole lot in the other direction.”
The bill passed 30-5 through the Senate on March 6. It now heads to the House.
SB 199 — Pesticide warnings
Senate Bill 199, sponsored by Sen. Jason Howell, R-Murray, would make any pesticide registered with the Kentucky Department of Agriculture or the Environmental Protection Agency that has an EPA-approved label automatically fit Kentucky’s warning label requirements. If passed, that would make it much more difficult for Kentuckians to sue pesticide manufacturers for adverse health risks later on.
Although it might not seem controversial at first glance, the bill united both hardline Republicans and Democrats on the Senate floor, with many raising concerns about the health risks of pesticide use. Several Republicans, including Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, Sen. Philip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, and Sen. Shelly Funke Frommeyer, R-Alexandria, spoke against the bill and questioned the lobbying power of chemical companies that manufacture pesticides.
Wheeler brought up previous chemical agents that were found to be major causes of cancer, including DDT and Agent Orange, as well as the $7.25 billion proposed settlement from Bayer to resolve thousands of lawsuit that claim its weedkilling product Roundup caused cancer.
“If we give immunity in these cases, we’re essentially saying, if these claims are later proven to be true, and some of them are in pending litigation, we’re basically saying that these Kentuckians don’t matter, these Kentuckians don’t deserve to collect,” Wheeler said.
The bill passed through the Senate on March 5 with a 23-13 vote and will head to the House.
HB 534 — Elections omnibus
House Bill 534, from Rep. DJ Johnson, R-Owensboro, drew significant scrutiny before passing through the House. The elections legislation with several notable changes to current law moved to the Senate on a 53-40 vote on March 5, with several Republicans joining Democrats in opposition.
Some of the bill’s notable provisions include:
● Monthly reviews of noncitizens on Kentucky voter rolls, with a requirement to remove names of ineligible voters and notification sent to the state’s attorney general, along with authorization for the State Board of Elections to work with the federal government to identify noncitizens who are registered to vote;
● Removing names of individuals convicted of a felony whose cases are currently on appeal from voter rolls;
● Allowing candidates for judicial office to publicly discuss their political party affiliation;
● And allowing Kentucky politicians who currently hold elected federal office to be a candidate for two different federal offices in one election, if one of the offices is decided by the United States Electoral College. The only office that applies to is U.S. president.
U.S. Sen. Rand Paul, a Republican who has not hesitated at times to vote against President Donald Trump’s policies, has not shut the door on speculation he may make a run for the White House in 2028. He would also be up for reelection that year as a U.S. senator, a role he’s held since early 2011. State Rep. Joshua Watkins, D-Louisville, was the only representative to speak out against the provision during the March 5 vote on the House floor.
Other Democrats spoke up with concerns about disenfranchising voters appealing felony convictions, in the event the verdicts against them were to be later overturned. And multiple party members were critical of the provisions pertaining to noncitizens, with Rep. Adrielle Camuel, D-Lexington, calling them “another example of a nonproblem” aimed at riling up voters to be concerned about “a very major situation that isn’t actually happening.”
The bill advanced on a relatively narrow margin and is pending in the Senate.
HB 593 — Data center energy costs
House Bill 593 was filed by Rep. Josh Bray, R-Mount Vernon, with a group of five co-sponsors that includes House Speaker David Osborne, R-Prospect. The legislation would take steps to ensure companies hoping to build data centers in Kentucky are legitimate and are able to take on additional energy costs instead of dropping them on consumers.
The bill from Bray, who previously co-chaired the legislature’s Artificial Intelligence Task Force, includes several clauses regulating data centers, which are critical for AI usage but often require huge amounts of energy, a hurdle that frequently draws community criticism.
The legislation requires a nonrefundable application fee of at least $75,000 — Senate President Robert Stivers, R-Manchester, said the clause could help scare off “cowboy developers” who buy large amounts of land in hopes of building a data center on the property but are unfamiliar with the development process — and requires the company to pay for an electric supplier study, with provisions aimed at ensuring the data center does not drive up service rates for non-data center customers.
The bill is on its way to the Senate after passing in the House on a 90-4 vote on March 4. It has not yet been given a committee assignment.
Reach Keely Doll at kdoll@courier-journal.com. Reach Lucas Aulbach at laulbach@courier-journal.com. Reach The Courier Journal’s politics team at cjpolitics@courier-journal.com.
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