Gov. Andy Beshear responds after ICE pushes back on his comments about agency operations

FRANKFORT, Ky. (ABC36 NEWS NOW) — Gov. Andy Beshear is continuing to speak out about immigration enforcement after a public exchange with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on social media.

During a recent appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Beshear said ICE agents should be withdrawn from cities and communities across the country and called for major reforms within the agency.

“My challenge here is that ICE is not operating the way that any law enforcement agency can or should operate,” Beshear said. “As Attorney General, I was the top law enforcement official in Kentucky. I know how an investigation is supposed to be run. I know peoples’ rights, and whether or not they’re being trampled on.”

The governor also claimed the agency is acting outside normal law enforcement boundaries, arguing that entering homes without a judicial warrant would violate constitutional rights.

Following those remarks, ICE posted a response on its X page, sharing a clip of Beshear’s comments alongside mugshots of people detained in Kentucky. In the post, the agency said it would continue to “withdraw criminal aliens from Kentucky regardless of his rhetoric.”

Beshear said he believes ICE leadership should change and that agents should undergo retraining, adding that he wants the agency to operate in a way that respects individual rights.

The exchange highlights a growing national debate over immigration enforcement and the role federal agencies play in local communities. Neither ICE nor the governor’s office has announced any policy changes tied to the back-and-forth.