‘Time to tone it down’: Kentucky GOP reflect on ‘divisive’ immigration debate
Most days in Frankfort are uneventful this early in the legislative session.
In the event there is a lengthy floor debate, it’s often predictable: Republicans defend a bill they’ll easily pass, and Democrats rail against it without success.
Friday morning was different.
In floor speeches not tied to a specific bill, state senators from both parties got candid on immigration, agreeing that some rhetoric around the issue has become too extreme.
Republican Sen. Danny Carroll of Paducah kicked off that conversation in an 11-minute speech, blaming both Democrats and Republicans for creating an unhealthy discussion about illegal immigration.
That discussion has dominated American politics in the wake of the killing of two U.S. citizens by federal agents in Minnesota, Alex Pretti and Renee Good, in January.
President Donald Trump has made deportations and border security a hallmark of his first year in office. However, in the wake of those filmed and highly-publicized killings, many have said that the tactics should change, including Trump himself. The president has recognized the criticism and sought for federal agents to use a “softer touch” in immigration enforcement.
Carroll’s remarks came as the state legislature is considering somewhat controversial bills around immigration.
Senate Bill 86 from Sen. Phillip Wheeler, R-Pikeville, introduced earlier this year, would require every local Kentucky law enforcement agency and the Kentucky State Police to partner with ICE. Wheeler called it “a preemptive measure to make sure that places like Louisville and Lexington don’t get any bad ideas.”
In the House, Rep. Shane Baker filed bills to ban any non-native born citizen from holding any elected office in Kentucky. Rep. T.J. Roberts, R-Burlington, also fired a measure similar to Wheeler’s.
None of those bills have moved past the committee stage.
Not addressing any specific policy, Carroll, a former law enforcement officer, said he was tired of the “radical elements on both sides.” He acknowledged a need for Trump to crack down after record numbers of encounters at the U.S. southern border under former Democratic President Joe Biden, but said the discussion has to change.
“There had to be direct actions taken, but it’s time to tone it down, and it’s time to get back to the roots of what this country is all about,” Carroll said. “And it’s time to fix this system, and it’s time for us to come back together as a country. We are so divisive, we are tearing ourselves apart from the inside, and those of us that are somewhere in the middle are getting left out of all this.”
He specifically called out the “demonization” of immigrants who “want nothing better than to improve their lives.”
In 2020, Carroll had a different focus. He was the sponsor of Senate Bill 1, which aimed to crack down on “sanctuary city” policies – local governments that sought to not comply with federal immigration enforcement laws.
In the Friday floor speech, Carroll said he was particularly moved by the story of a doctor who had recently treated his daughter during a health scare. The young doctor was from India, Carroll said, and went through medical school there.
“You know what: I was very skeptical of his care and him taking care of my daughter. But I heard the next day that he had stayed up all night just to monitor her numbers and her blood work, to change her IV to ensure that she was getting the proper dosage of medicine. That kid won me over that night,” Carroll said.
He sympathized with the doctor’s fear of international travel given recent issues some have had with reentry into the country as well as the doctor feeling “suspicion” in the largely conservative community around him.
The senator, who has held office representing a slice of far West Kentucky since 2015, argued for a continued focus on deporting criminal undocumented immigrants, but a path to citizenship for others.
“I hope there comes a day soon that the federal administration draws a line in saying t’s time to tone this down. It’s time to look at those who are remaining in the country. If they’ve been here two, three years, they’re productive citizens, they’re contributing to our economy, let’s give them a path to stay in this country,” Carroll said.
Carroll did not respond to a request for comment after his speech Friday morning. Traditionally a conservative on most matters, Carroll broke from most of his party in 2023 when he was the leading Republican seeking to make changes to soften Senate Bill 150, which banned all aspects of gender-affirming health care for transgender minors in Kentucky.
Carroll’s West Kentucky district is heavy on agriculture, an industry uniquely reliant on immigrant labor, some of it undocumented. Much of the state’s soybean and corn production takes place in the region.
He said his stance is informed by the time he’s recently taken to read his Bible before legislative session days, citing a verse in the Gospel asking people to love their enemies.
“In Matthew, it talks about treating others, even your enemies, those you hate, treating them with kindness. I think we’re forgetting that right now, where we are as a country, and I think that it’s time for us to go in a different direction,” Carroll said.
Carroll’s speech was well-regarded by Democrats who spoke on the floor, and it was respected by Republicans, too — even if they disagreed on some of the points.
Senators Mike Nemes, R-Shepherdsville, and Stephen Meredith, R-Leitchfield, offered praise of Carroll’s remarks in follow-up speeches.
Sen. Gerald Neal, D-Louisville, rose to commend Carroll on meeting the “need to talk this through.” Citing his own experience in the Civil Rights movement of the 1960s, Neal, 80, said he was “disturbed” by what he had seen from federal immigration agents.
“This is one of the most disturbing things that I’ve seen in my lifetime, because I’ve been on that front line, and I understand what it means when you tell your government that you don’t agree with them doing something,” Neal said.
Sen. Lindsey Tichenor, R-Smithfield, offered a defense of Trump’s policies on immigration, but also agreed with some of the heart of what Carroll was saying.
She mentioned that deportations under Democratic presidents had received less scrutiny and media outrage than those carried out under Trump. She also said that current federal immigration enforcement is working in a fraught environment.
“We need to make sure our laws are enforced. We need to make sure those who are criminals are removed, and we do everything we can to prevent future crimes from happening. Our ICE agents are bold and brave, and they’re entering into an environment that has been hyped up by our media to the point where their lives are in danger,” she said.
However, she ultimately agreed with Carroll’s point that the rhetoric needs to “tone down,” making a point about the social media algorithms that dictate what news and information people consume.
“What are people watching? What algorithms are they wrapped up in? Because that’s building a narrative in their brain on who the enemy is, and right now we are watching people be demonized because they’re trying to enforce the law. Now, on the other hand, it can go the other way too. As we’ve talked about in these chambers, what algorithm are people in to see every person who looks different or sounds different is the enemy? That’s not always the case.”
Tichenor got emotional when recalling her time working as a missionary in both the Dominican Republican and Haiti, one of the most impoverished countries in the world.
“The time I spent living in some of the most horrific environments, and time working with people who live in those environments full-time who have no hope out, I understand. I know why they want to be here, and I still can’t come to terms with why I was born here, and they were born there,” Tichenor said.
