Trump homeland security chief says ICE agents could be sent to polling places

US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin announced on Tuesday that federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers might be sent to polling places in the United States under certain conditions. Speaking to reporters in New York, Mullin clarified that ICE's primary purpose isn't to patrol polling locations, but to address specific threats or serve warrants on individuals they are actively tracking.

Democrats and voting rights groups have been raising concerns about the Trump administration's potential plan to deploy federal agents to polling sites in an attempt to suppress voter turnout ahead of the November midterm elections. Despite the White House downplaying these rumors, Trump has not ruled out the possibility, and continues to question the authenticity of both past and future elections.

Mullin emphasized that the only reason for ICE agents to be present at polling sites would be if there was a threat to the location or if they were executing a warrant. He reiterated that ICE's official role is immigration and customs enforcement, and their actions would be solely based on targeted enforcement measures. Federal law explicitly prohibits any armed personnel, including military or otherwise, from being at polling locations during elections.

The Homeland Security Department further clarified in a separate statement to Politico that ICE is not planning any operations targeting polling locations. They emphasized that ICE conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement and would only arrest individuals if an active public safety threat endangered a polling location. The Guardian reached out to DHS for additional comment.

Mullin's remarks come after he threatened to withhold federal aid from states that refused to cooperate with his administration's election directives in July. These directives were part of the administration's efforts to combat what it perceives as widespread voter fraud. Mullin claimed he would scrutinize election records to identify ineligible voters, including deceased individuals, and that states must secure the election to continue receiving federal funding.

However, experts have pointed out that the administration has not provided any evidence to support its claims of non-citizen voting.

Dan Caine, the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, recently wrote in a letter that there are no plans for the U.S. military to deploy troops to polling sites during the upcoming November midterm elections. Caine's letter was a response to a request from Senator Elissa Slotkin, who expressed concerns about the Trump administration potentially sending military personnel to patrol polling locations.

He also assured that the military would not be involved in seizing ballots, voting machines, or other election-related materials.