The resolution under consideration is one calling on Gov. Andy Beshear to throw his support behind Texas Gov. Greg Abbot in his state's clash with the federal government.
In a floor debate Tuesday, Republican Sen. Greg Elkins maintained the non-binding resolution is not just a political performance — but rather a statement about issues that reach beyond the border.
"This is not a political stunt," the senator said. "To my constituents, this is very, very real. I hear people say we're not a border state and certainly there are areas of American soil between this great commonwealth and the Southern border states, but we do suffer many of the same woes that are suffered in those border states."
The resolution contains a number of "whereas" clauses laying out the case that Kentucky ought to support Texas amid its legal battles with the federal government. One reads: "the inability of the Border Patrol to adequate vet and process the unprecedented number of migrants entering the United States leaves the country vulnerable to increases in crime, terrorism, drug overdose deaths, housing shortages, human trafficking, and the potential for unprecedented harm on all persons in the United States and this Commonwealth."
Republican Sen. Whitney Westerfield pushed back on the resolution, noting it focuses solely on President Joe Biden and ignores Congress' role in crafting — or failing to craft — border policy. He went on to criticize how politics, including the presidential race, are shaping the conflict over the border legislation.
"Some are trying to save the problem because it's a political liability for a candidate they don't like and it's an advantageous message for a candidate they do like, which is particularly cruel," Westerfield said, calling out both parties for the lack of action. "They'd rather have the problem, so that they can poke at somebody else and complain about it instead of solving the problem."
The speech came as negotiations faltered on a Ukraine aid and border security package in Washington, with advocates encountering entrenched opposition from conservatives — led by former President Donald Trump — who reject the border proposal as insufficient and criticize Ukraine funding as wasteful.
A similar resolution supporting Gov. Abbot has already passed the House.
