County Fight Dormant

Kentucky — HB47 and SB86 would mandate all police agencies enter 287(g) agreements

Statewide, KY

Current status: HB47 stalled in House Judiciary Committee (referred Jan 21, 2026; no further action through end of 26RS regular session). Kentucky 2026 General Assembly adjourned sine die without HB47 advancing. SB86 also did not progress. Bills effectively dead for 26RS but expected to return in 2027 session.

Overview

Two bills in Kentucky’s 2026 legislative session would mandate all law enforcement agencies enter 287(g) agreements with ICE. If passed, Kentucky would become one of the most aggressive states in the country for compulsory immigration enforcement cooperation. The bills come after 22 agencies voluntarily signed 287(g) agreements in 2025.

House Bill 47

Primary sponsor: Rep. TJ Roberts (R-Burlington, Northern Kentucky)
Co-sponsors: 18 total, including 3 Northern Kentucky Republicans
Would require: All Kentucky State Police posts enter Task Force Model 287(g) agreements with ICE
Training: 40 hours of ICE training counting toward annual in-service requirements
Status: Stalled in committee. Introduced in the House on January 13, 2026; sent to House Judiciary Committee on January 21, 2026. No further action taken before 26RS adjourned sine die in mid-April 2026.
Presented: During Interim Joint Committee on Local Government (Nov 20, 2025)

Senate Bill 86

Goes further than HB47: Would require BOTH Kentucky State Police AND all local law enforcement agencies to participate in all three 287(g) models (Task Force, Jail Enforcement, Warrant Service Officer)
Sponsors: 10
Status: Did not advance in 26RS; effectively dead with HB47 for the 2026 session.

Context: 287(g) Expansion

Nationally: 287(g) agreements surged from 135 on inauguration day 2025 to 1,381 across 40 states by Feb. 4, 2026 (per KY Center for Economic Policy)
Kentucky: 22 agencies signed voluntarily in 2025; grew to 30 contracts across 24 agencies by early 2026; KY Center for Economic Policy tally as of 2026 lists 36 local LE agencies with 287(g) agreements and 11 local jails with ICE detention contracts
Financial incentive (Oct 2025): ICE implemented full salary/benefit reimbursement for participating officers plus performance bonuses based on “successful location of illegal aliens” (codified in OBBBA, effective Oct 1, 2025)
20 of 30 Kentucky contracts use the Task Force Model (most aggressive)
NPR (May 5, 2026): National syndicated reporting confirms ICE is “giving local police big money” via the new financial-incentive structure — the same bounty mechanic HB47 critics flagged

Timeline

2025-11-20 — Rep. TJ Roberts pre-files BR 1139 and presents at Interim Joint Committee on Local Government (Kentucky Lantern)
2026-01-13 — HB47 formally introduced in Kentucky House
2026-01-21 — Referred to House Judiciary Committee; no further action (KY Legislature 26RS HB47 record)
2026-04-15 — Kentucky General Assembly adjourns sine die; HB47 and SB86 both die in committee (LegiScan KY 2026 RS)
2026-05-06 — News check: no post-sine-die revival activity; bills effectively dead until 27RS

Why It Matters

These bills would remove local discretion from the immigration enforcement equation entirely. Currently, individual sheriffs and police chiefs decide whether to cooperate — and some have declined (notably Oldham County Sheriff). HB47/SB86 would eliminate that choice, making every police encounter in Kentucky a potential immigration enforcement action.

The performance bonus structure — paying agencies based on how many people they help ICE locate — creates a bounty system that incentivizes racial profiling. Combined with mandatory participation, this would effectively turn every Kentucky officer into an ICE agent.

Sources

This research is published at The RAMM — investigative reporting on the detention pipeline.

Edit Report issue Add a tip about this fight