While we continually see the so-called “sanctuary” cities and counties trying to frustrate federal enforcement of our immigration laws, at least parts of Kentucky are doing their jobs! And while the Lexington Herald-Leader’s editorial orientation is toward the left of the political spectrum, reporter Beth Musgrave’s article is politically neutral.

Report: Kentucky immigration arrests soar as more police ink agreements with ICE

By Beth Musgrave | Tuesday, September 8, 2026 | 9:24 AM EDT

An analysis by a Kentucky policy center shows the number of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests in the commonwealth continues to grow as the number of local agencies helping ICE has exploded over the past year.

The Kentucky Center for Economic Policy, using data from the Deportation Data Project, showed the number of ICE arrests in Kentucky is at close to 5,000 since President Donald Trump took office in 2025.

An increasing number of those ICE-related arrests are a result of the growing number of Kentucky law enforcement agencies with agreements with ICE to enforce immigration policy, the data showed.

In January 2025 the number of ICE arrests in Kentucky was 114. By July 2026, the number of monthly ICE arrests grew to 443. About 15.8% of those arrests were credited to local law enforcement agreements, the Kentucky Center for Economic Policy analysis showed. In November 2025, only one ICE arrest was credited to local law enforcement.

There’s more at the original.

There are three separate enforcement models:

• The Task Force Model allows officers trained by ICE to enforce immigration law during routine police activity, like traffic stops. This model was once discontinued over concerns about racial profiling, but it was revived by the Trump administration in January 2025.
• The Jail Enforcement Model, which allows jail officials to interrogate those who are arrested and detained about their immigration status.
• The Warrant Service Officer Model allows a designated jail employee to serve ICE warrants on people in custody.

Simply put, all three models are based on people who have already been stopped or caught for crimes not related to immigration law to be checked on their immigration status. The Task Force Model would allow that someone stopped for a minor infraction such as a traffic violation who might have otherwise simply received a ticket to be arrested on immigration law charges. We’re not talking about people who are completely law-abiding people on things not related to immigration law, but people who have broken the law in other ways. Isn’t that something we should all want?

Illegal immigrants cannot be issued a driver’s license in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, so an illegal immigrant stopped at a routine checkpoint such as a DUI check would be in violation and could be arrested even if he committed no traffic violation.

Fortunately, the Bluegrass State has Republican super-majorities in both Houses of the General Assembly, and our insipid Democratic Governor, Andy Beshear, can’t do anything to make things easier for illegal immigrants, and can’t force local law enforcement agencies to not cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. What we really need is for all of the agencies to cooperate with ICE.