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ICE responds after Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear says agents should be withdrawn from cities

Christopher Leach, Lexington Herald-Leader on

Published in News & Features

LEXINGTON, Ky. — U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has fired back at Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear for his recent comments about the agency on “The View.”

Beshear told the hosts of “The View” on Monday that, “every ICE agent should be withdrawn from every city and every community that they’re in.” The comments come on the heels of federal agents having an increased presence across the country, including in Minneapolis where two people were fatally shot while ICE led immigration operations Protests have taken place nationwide following the deaths of protestors Alex Pretti and Renee Good.

Pretti was shot and killed by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents Jan. 24 in Minneapolis. Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said Pretti committed an “act of domestic terrorism” while protesting the agency’s presence .

“This organization has to be reformed from the top down. Secretary Noem needs to be fired, and every agent needs to be retrained,” Beshear further said on The View.

On Tuesday, ICE posted a repeating clip of Beshear’s comment while overlaying profiles of immigrants not legally authorized to be in the country that were arrested in Kentucky. The agency captioned the post on X with, “we’ll continue to ‘withdraw’ criminal aliens from Kentucky regardless of your rhetoric, Governor.”

 

Beshear, who has long been considered a possible candidate for the Democratic nomination for president in 2028, previously said Noem’s comments were irresponsible and incredibly concerning. Noem has since walked back from her initial statement, saying she relied on initial reports from agents in Minneapolis, according to Politico.

“We were being relayed information from on the ground from CBP agents and officers that were there,” Noem said, according to Politico. “We were using the best information we had at the time.”

Beshear also appeared on “The Daily Show” on Tuesday, discussing his relationships with other governors.


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