A public clash erupted in Kentucky after Gov. Andy Beshear called for the removal of Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from communities across the state, prompting a sharp response from Attorney General Russell Coleman, as reported by Fox News.

During an appearance on ABC’s “The View,” Beshear said, “Every ICE agent should be withdrawn from every city and every community that they’re in. This organization has to be reformed from the top-down. Secretary Noem needs to be fired, and every agent needs to retrained.”

He added that the “body-count of American citizens” should lead to a “pause [to] pull everybody back.”

Kentucky Democrat Governor Andy Beshear on the insane asylum ‘The View’ saying Kristi Noem should be fired and every ICE agent removed! How did this communist get elected in deep Red Kentucky? Look how rabid his eyes are in this rant!

He was the ONLY Democrat elected in 2019! pic.twitter.com/RxugZqwvQV

— Mike Engleman (@RealHickory) February 10, 2026

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Coleman responded in an interview with Fox News Digital from the sheriff’s office in Daviess County, home of NASCAR legend Darrell Waltrip and one of several Kentucky jurisdictions that cooperate with ICE.

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“My view as the chief law enforcement officer of this commonwealth, someone that’s carried a badge and a gun, someone that has been a federal prosecutor, [is] that statement that the governor made was absurd,” Coleman said, describing his position as “not a political one.”

The attorney general said the disagreement centers on Beshear’s “commentary” versus the practical authority of state and local agencies. The Kentucky State Police operates under the governor’s authority and currently works with ICE.

Coleman’s office, meanwhile, works alongside Kentucky’s 120 county sheriffs, many of whom cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security.

“I don’t want to set up a straw-dog argument because the reality is the collaboration is never going to stop here because those of us who have taken an oath to protect families are going to work with our federal partners,” Coleman said.

He pointed to arrests across the Tug Fork River in West Virginia, where cooperation led to the apprehension of 650 illegal immigrants.

Legal questions surrounding any potential standoff between the governor and attorney general were addressed by former Florida federal prosecutor Zack Smith.

Smith noted that both governors and sheriffs are elected constitutional officers and that “neither can tell the other what to do ‘in most instances.’”

“The attorney general can issue opinions of law. He can issue certain advisory opinions about what state law means or requires. But there are very few instances, in Florida at least, where the attorney general can compel another constitutional officer, like sheriffs, to comply with state law,” Smith said.

“Now, if they violate state law or something like that, obviously, he could then prosecute them, but there’s really not a lot he could do as a practical matter.”

He added that Beshear may be using the gubernatorial “bully pulpit” and referenced “the 287(g) agreements” in counties.

“I think this, from a practical and policy perspective, this is a very foolish and very dangerous statement by the governor of Kentucky,” Smith said, pointing to unrest in Minnesota tied to opposition to ICE operations.

Beshear’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Both Beshear and Coleman previously served as attorney general, a point Beshear mentioned on “The View.” Coleman said that the background should reinforce the value of cooperation with federal authorities.

“I’d like to, on one hand, be respectful of my predecessor… [but] anyone who’s spent time in law enforcement… knows that we are more effective at protecting people,” Coleman said.

He cited a case in Daviess County where ICE assisted in removing a violent child-sex predator and noted Owensboro authorities worked with DHS to arrest an illegal immigrant accused of financially extorting seniors.

In neighboring Virginia, state officials are considering ending cooperation agreements formed under former Gov. Glenn Youngkin. Coleman said he does not expect Kentucky’s capital, Frankfort, to follow Richmond’s path.

“Fortunately, I don’t have to face that hypothetical here in this Commonwealth, but in our Mother Commonwealth (Virginia), it’s been very concerning. We [also] hated to lose a phenomenal colleague in Jason Miyares,” he said.

The Department of Homeland Security also responded.

Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin said federal officers “will continue arresting criminal illegal aliens across the state of Kentucky while sanctuary politicians like Governor Beshear continue to demonize our law enforcement and side with criminal illegal aliens over American citizens.”

“We need state and local law enforcement engagement and information so we don’t have to have such a presence on the streets,” she said.

McLaughlin listed recent arrests in Kentucky, including Roman Sanchez, described as a criminal illegal immigrant convicted of homicide, willful killing of a family member with a gun, larceny, robbery, receiving stolen property, and armed street robbery, as well as several individuals convicted of rape.

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