Beshear says ICE has not requested assistance from Kentucky amid

Gov. Andy Beshear reported U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not made any requests of assistance from Kentucky amid the Trump administration’s crackdown on immigration.

But should any requests come through, he said Thursday, they will be “looked at and evaluated.”

Since taking office earlier this month, President Donald Trump has announced sweeping measures aimed at immigration, including ending birthright citizenship for some children and deputizing several justice department agencies to help ICE with immigration enforcement.

“Any request we’re going to look at it,” Beshear said at his weekly Team Kentucky press conference. “Certainly there are instances where, if we know of somebody who has broken the law, that has committed a violent offense, and that’s somebody that we would normally work, whether it’s with immigration or just regular law enforcement, to apprehend and make our community safer.”

He added he would want to evaluate “anything and everything and try to do what’s best for the people of Kentucky.”

“At the end of the day, my approach is that border security is national security,” Beshear said. “We must enforce our immigration laws, but also understanding that many of these people are fleeing violence and oppression, and we ought to be recognizing that while we are enforcing our immigration laws.”

Last year, ahead of Trump taking office, Beshear said he wanted to see the president’s “mass deportation plans” before making any type of comment.

“We’ll see what we’re asked to do,” Beshear said in November. “Certainly anything that we’re asked to do will have to be ultimately legal under both federal and state law.

Beshear expresses support for FEMA

Trump has also said he will likely get rid of FEMA, the main federal agency that responds to natural disasters.

Beshear said while changes need to be made in the agency, “FEMA is an organization that needs to continue.”

“What FEMA does is ensure that one group that’s out there can do all the training and have the personnel to process applications for help from multiple states and from tens of thousands of individuals,” Beshear said. “If FEMA was dissolved, every state would have to do that on its own because that work is required under statute.”

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Kentucky has experience multiple disasters, including tornadoes and flash flooding, that has required federal assistance in recent years.

According to FEMA’s website, the organization approved more than$40.4 million in direct assistance to individual Kentucky survivors as of 2022.

Reach reporter Hannah Pinski at hpinski@courier-journal.com or follow her on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @hannahpinski.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Gov. Andy Beshear says ICE has not requested assistance from Kentucky

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