LEXINGTON, Ky. — All Kentucky state and local law enforcement could get broad authority to help Immigration and Customs Enforcement in deporting undocumented immigrants under a bill proposed by Rep. TJ Roberts, R-Burlington, Thursday.

Roberts discussed his bill request to force all local law enforcement agencies and the Kentucky State Police to enter into an agreement with ICE in front of the House Committee on Local Government Thursday. The freshman lawmaker intends to file his bill during the 2026 General Assembly, which begins in January.

The agreement would grant those law enforcement officers the ability to do much of the work of ICE officers, including identification and detainment of suspected undocumented immigrants.

Currently, law enforcement agencies can enter into those agreements, known as 287(g), of their own volition. Roberts said that 10 of Kentucky’s 120 counties are already participants in the program.

According to the memorandum of agreement for the task force model on ICE’s website, the immigration enforcement authority granted to local and state law enforcement who undergo ICE training would be wide-ranging. Other materials on ICE’s website add the caveat that the local and state officers would be limited to carrying them out “while performing routine police duties,” such as identifying someone’s immigration status while pulling them over for driving under the influence.

Officers in the program would be granted:

•Power to interrogate any undocumented immigrant, or person believed to be an undocumented immigrant, “as to his right to be or remain in the United States.”

•Ability to “process for immigration violations those individuals who have been arrested for State or Federal criminal offenses.”

•Authority to arrest any undocumented immigrant entering the U.S. “if the officer has reason to believe” the person is “in the United States in violation of law and is likely to escape before a warrant can be obtained.”

•Ability to arrest without a warrant for felonies related to U.S. immigration law

•Power to serve and execute warrants for immigration law violations

•Ability to process immigration charges, including fingerprinting, interviewing and preparing affidavits for ICE review

•Power to issue immigration detainers, prepare charging documents and maintain custody of people arrested by ICE

Roberts argues these powers would be limited by a portion of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996.

That section states that officers may carry out the powers granted by 287(g) to “the extent consistent with State and local law.”

Roberts pointed out that, currently, there are no state or local laws on the books making undocumented status a crime.

In committee, Roberts said that the authorities granted to those officers would be limited by their day-to-day assignments as local and state officers.

“287(g) only allows for limited immigration enforcement in the scopes of their day-to-day duties. There has to be some level of suspicion of an underlying crime. Whether that be DUI, domestic violence, traffic offenses, violent crimes, there has to be something else,” Roberts said.

According to ICE, participation in the program also comes with monetary benefits for departments. Departments would get $100,000 for new vehicles, $7,500 per trained officer for equipment and other pay benefits.

Roberts hailed it as an “incredible opportunity to provide more resources to our law enforcement community,” and said it “align us with the priorities of our federal government.”

The administration of President Donald Trump and Congress under GOP control have made immigration enforcement a top priority. Congress recently tripled ICE’s budget, southern border crossings have plummeted, ICE arrests have doubled and the number of people in detention is at an all-time high.

Democrats in the committee room, and the Kentucky chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, set off alarm bells.

“This is another bad attempt to copy and paste a failed idea used in other states into Kentucky law,” ACLU-KY Executive Director Amber Duke wrote. “This attack on local control will undermine public safety, erode constitutional rights, strain law enforcement resources, and damage community trust across Kentucky. Lawmakers in the 2026 General Assembly should reject this harmful and unnecessary mandate and keep local policing focused on protecting everyone in our communities.”

Though 287(g) agreements were legalized in the 1996 law, signed by former President Bill Clinton, they were not implemented until 2002 because, according to the Congressional Research Service, “the law was given new urgency following the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001.”

The administration of former President Barack Obama discontinued the task force model in 2012, but it was revived during Trump’s first term.

Rep. Sarah Stalker, D-Louisville, asked about the implications for people driving or walking around without identification.

Roberts stated again that he believes the law enforcement officers would be limited in when they can act similarly to ICE agents.

“There has to already be reasonable suspicion that an independent crime has been committed. This isn’t going to result in individuals just doing pure immigration controls,” Roberts said.

According to an ICE online database, the Kentucky counties and cities that already have 287(g) agreements for the task force model include: Bracken, Butler, Clinton, Fulton, Daviess, Grayson, Heritage Creek (city), Hickman, Lyon, Marshall, Scott and Union.

A July Herald-Leader analysis showed the number of Kentucky local governments with 287(g) agreements with ICE doubled from January to July.

“We don’t have these agreements in the areas that need it most. I think it’s well within our purview to make such a requirement,” Roberts said.

‘Quiet, piggy’ response to critic

The committee room was not the only place where there was conflict.

Pam Gersh, a woman from the Louisville area, emailed Roberts Thursday morning expressing her strong opposition, calling it a “fascist proposal.”

“Given the egregious and cruel actions by ICE, any cooperation or expansion is unacceptable. Our neighbors are living in fear now. We are seeing US citizens targeted because of their skin color. We have seen violence and overly aggressive actions taken by ICE agents,” Gersh wrote.

Roberts replied with an AI-generated video of himself superimposed onto Trump when the president told a reporter “quiet, piggy.” That insult sparked strong disapproval from press groups and observers alike.

Gersh told the Herald-Leader that citizens should not be treated that way and that she “strongly believe(s) he should be censured.”

Roberts wrote in a statement that his response fit the tone of Gersh’s initial email.

“The leftist activist posing as a PR specialist sent me a joke of an email, attacking law and order and our law enforcement community, so I sent a joke of a response,” Roberts wrote.

Roberts also posted the video to social media.

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