Kentucky AG Russell Coleman fires back at Gov. Beshear over ICE cooperation
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SPECIAL: Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman responded to Gov. Andy Beshear’s comments on “The View” calling for ICE to withdraw from “every city” and set up what could become a high-stakes intergovernmental battle over cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
“Every ICE agent needs to be pulled from every city and every community they’re in. This organization needs to be reformed from top to bottom. Secretary Noem needs to be fired and every agent needs to be retrained,” Beshear told the ABC talk show, before adding that the “body count of American citizens” should lead to a “pause.” [to] Get everyone back.”
Speaking to Fox News Digital from the sheriff’s office in Daviess County, home of NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip and one of several Kentucky counties working with ICE, Coleman said his approach was “not a political view” and that he had the support of law enforcement officials ICE spoke with after the interview.
“As the chief law enforcement officer of this state, my view is that someone who carries a badge and a gun, someone who is a federal prosecutor, [is] This statement by the governor was ridiculous,” said Coleman.
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Kentucky Attorney General Russell Coleman (left) and Governor Andy Beshear (Marcus Dorsey/Getty Images; Gary Gershoff/Getty Images)
The disagreement centers on Beshear’s “interpretation” and the reality of the institutions he controls, Coleman said.
Kentucky State Police are under Beshear’s jurisdiction but are currently working with ICE. Meanwhile, Coleman’s office works with the state’s 120 county sheriff’s offices, many of which cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security.
“I don’t want to start a ridiculous debate because the reality is that cooperation will never stop here because those of us who are sworn to protect families will work with our federal partners,” he said, pointing to recent successes along the Tug Fork River in West Virginia, where such cooperation led to the arrest of 650 illegal immigrants.
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As for the legal ramifications of a potential conflict between a DHS-affiliated attorney general and a governor with opposing goals, one legal expert said the situation presents an interesting situation.
Former Florida federal prosecutor Zack Smith said that although each state’s attorney general’s office is slightly different, a governor is an elected constitutional official, just like sheriffs, and neither can tell the other what to do “in most cases.”
“The attorney general can issue legal opinions. He can issue specific advisory opinions about what state law means or requires. But there are very few instances, at least in Florida, where the attorney general can force another constitutional officer, such as sheriffs, to comply with state law.”
“Now, if they violate state law or something like that, of course he can prosecute them, but there’s not much he can do practically,” he said, adding that Beshear is likely relying on his “bully pulpit” in the governor’s office to effect change.
“There are probably limits to what they can do, and keep in mind the 287(g) agreements in the counties.”
“I think this is, from a practical and political standpoint, a very stupid and very dangerous statement by the governor of Kentucky,” he said, pointing to Minnesota chaos resulting from similar opposition to ICE operations.
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Beshear’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Both Beshear and Coleman served as attorneys general — something the governor mentioned on “The View” — but Coleman said Beshear should have known that cooperation with federal authorities was therefore preferable to going on the offensive.
“On the one hand, I want to be respectful to my predecessor… [but] “Anyone who has spent time in law enforcement … knows that we are more effective at protecting people,” he said, noting that his county should thank ICE for taking a violent child sex predator off the streets and that local Owensboro officials cooperated with a DHS operation to arrest an illegal immigrant who was financially extorting seniors.
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In neighboring Virginia, officials are trying to follow Beshear’s recommendations by ending state-federal cooperation under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin and advancing bills that would restrict DHS cooperation.
When asked, Coleman said he didn’t think Frankfort would follow Richmond’s lead anytime soon and lamented the loss of many of his co-op colleagues in Virginia.
“Fortunately, I don’t have to face that assumption in this Commonwealth, but in our Mother Commonwealth (Virginia) it was very concerning. We [also] “I hated to lose such an incredible colleague as Jason Miyares,” he added.
DHS also pushed back on Beshear’s position. Deputy Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said federal law enforcement “will continue to apprehend criminal illegal aliens throughout the state of Kentucky, while sanctuary politicians like Governor Beshear will continue to demonize our law enforcement and side with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”
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“We need the involvement and knowledge of state and local law enforcement so that we don’t have to have such a presence on the streets,” he said.
Recent arrests in Kentucky include Roman Sanchez, described as a convicted illegal immigrant convicted of murder, manslaughter of a family member, burglary, burglary, receiving stolen property and armed street robbery, as well as several people convicted of rape.
