When Republican Sen. Danny Carroll from Paducah rose to address the Senate chamber Friday, he said he didn’t intend to get choked up.
As he discussed the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown that has drawn nationwide protests and killed two U.S. citizens, Carroll said he still wants to protect the border, but added that “we’ve lost our way.”
“These are humans. These are humans that want a better life, and we should take pride that this country is where they want to be, because we can offer that,” Carroll said.
Carroll, a former police officer, apologized for becoming emotional as he described coming in early to the Capitol to read the Bible, especially portions that commands Christians to “love your enemies.” Carroll’s speech pushed several state senators to stand and condemn, support or take a middle ground on President Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda.
Nationwide, more Americans are taking issue with how the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is conducting its operations. A PBS News/NPR/Marist Poll this week found 65% of American adults believe the “actions of ICE have gone too far in enforcing immigration laws,” up from 54% last June.
However, a large share of Republicans support immigration officers’ behaviors, like arresting U.S. citizens who help others avoid arrest, or increasing ICE presence in majority-immigrant neighborhoods, according to a Pew Research poll.
Carroll largely blamed the Biden administration for “opening the borders” and said that an unknown number of criminals poured into the country. He said that he worked with ICE during his career in law enforcement, holding people until immigration officials could detain them. He also said that sometimes officers have to be “very forceful” when apprehending criminals, but that nonviolent undocumented immigrants are getting treated the same.
“The reality of it is there are tens of thousands of people who wanted nothing more than to improve the lives of their families in this country, because that's what this country is all about,” Carroll said. “That's what this country was built on.”
As of Jan. 25, nearly three-quarters of detainees have no criminal convictions, and many of those with convictions were for minor or traffic-related offenses, according to TRAC Reports. A November 2025 study by the libertarian CATO Institute found just 5% of detained immigrants had been convicted of a violent crime.
Carroll called on lawmakers to avoid harmful rhetoric from both the left and right, recognize the need for immigrants in the country’s economy and focus on fixing a broken immigration system. Carroll said ICE operations are likely to “ramp up even higher in the months to come” in Kentucky.
“Frankly, I'm tired of radical elements on both sides, and they seem to be the ones that are driving the narrative today, because those of us in the middle are not speaking up,” Carroll said.
Twenty-four law enforcement agencies in Kentucky have signed 287(g) agreements, which gives local officers limited authority to enforce federal immigration law, according to ICE data.
ICE arrest data released by the Deportation Data Project shows that over a 9-month period last year, there were 1,950 ICE arrests in the state — a 32% increase compared to 2024. Kentucky jails, many of which already struggled with overcrowding, are holding a rapidly increasing number of people in federal custody.
Numerous bills filed in the General Assembly this year would require even more state participation in immigration enforcement. Several are aimed at tearing down sanctuary policies and requiring cooperation with and participation in federal immigration enforcement. None have progressed in either chamber yet. A duo of bills that would bar immigrant citizens from holding state and local offices have also not yet moved in the legislature.
GOP House Speaker David Osborne of Prospect told reporters earlier this session the Republican caucus continues to discuss legislation and that they have yet to “unify behind” a single bill.
Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, a Republican from Smithfield, said she wants several pieces of filed legislation discussed before saying she felt the Trump administration’s deportation efforts have been unfairly characterized. She named several women who have been killed by undocumented immigrants, including Laken Riley, whose murder sparked federal legislation Trump signed into law allowing non-citizens charged with or arrested for certain crimes to be detained without bond.
“We need to make sure we're protecting our citizens here in the United States. We need to make sure our laws are enforced,” Tichenor said. “We need to make sure those who are criminals are removed, and we do everything we can to prevent future crimes from happening.”
Tichenor also said the U.S. should continue to support legal immigration and immigrants “who come here for refuge.”
The Trump administration has begun reexamining thousands of refugees’ cases and a federal judge ruled last week that the administration is not allowed to continue detaining lawful refugees.
Democrats also spoke out during the impromptu discussion, saying they agreed with some of the arguments laid out by Republicans, but not with others. Sen. Keturah Herron of Louisville said 17% of her district is Hispanic and called on lawmakers to ensure “we’re treating individuals with humanity.”
“Let's start using language that talks and speaks humanity, and let's move forward together to make sure that regardless, that if people are here in our commonwealth, that we are caring for them and making sure that their needs are met,” Herron said.
Other Republican senators also expressed a desire to “get rid of criminals” while allowing people who have been living in the U.S. to continue doing so legally and emphasizing the value immigrants have brought to their communities. Sen. Michael Nemes from Shepherdsville told lawmakers he believed the vast majority of the body did not want to deport undocumented immigrants who are working and raising a family peacefully.
“We don't want them out. We want them a pathway to — I'm not going to say citizenship — but a pathway to legality,” Nemes said.
Sen. Stephen Meredith, a Republican from Leitchfield and former rural hospital CEO, said one of the most “rewarding” experiences he had in rural health care was recruiting international medical graduates. He said they were dedicated to rural communities when other recruited providers only stay for a short while.
“We need to reach out and embrace these people,” Meredith said. “We had some great experiences with them for medical graduates, and they do make great contributions to our community.”
Carroll, who kicked off the impromptu discussion, said a doctor who treated his daughter during a recent medical scare confided in him that he was afraid to go visit his family from India, and the suspicion he feels when moving around in his community in western Kentucky.
“Those are the side effects from where we are right now with this, with demonizing those that are here in the country that are immigrants,” Carroll said. “Those that are here legally are paying the price for this also.”
