Trump administration says it has no plans for ICE officers at polls. Activists are preparing, anyway

As early voting has commenced, concerns have arisen over the potential role of immigration enforcement officers at polling stations leading up to Election Day. Department of Homeland Security officials from the Trump administration have stated they have no plans to deploy ICE officers en masse to monitor polling places, dismissing worries over the matter as "fearmongering."

Election legal experts, however, argue that federal law clearly prohibits the deployment of armed troops, agents, or officers at election sites, except to repel armed enemies of the United States - a stringent criterion to fulfill. Despite this, organizations advocating for Latino, Black and Asian American voters express apprehension due to the rhetoric surrounding ICE's activities and the surge in immigration arrests under President Donald Trump's administration.

As recently as congressional testimony, then-acting head of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Todd Lyons, and Customs and Border Protection head, Rodney Scott, had asserted there were no plans to send officers to the polls. DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, in a September statement, dismissed concerns about ICE officers at polling places, suggesting they might intervene in specific cases, such as arresting an individual with a warrant.

However, he cautioned that the situation could evolve depending on the necessity to maintain the integrity of the elections.

Trump, who has frequently raised the specter of widespread illegal noncitizen voting without any substantial evidence, has not outright directed ICE officers to be present at the polls but has not ruled out the possibility either. When asked in May if he would send the National Guard or ICE to voting locations in November, Trump replied, "I’d do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections."

According to the DHS, legal residents have nothing to fear as ICE is not planning to launch operations targeting polling locations. The agency clarifies that it conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement, and if a public safety threat endangers a polling location, an individual may be arrested as a result. Nonetheless, federal law dating back to the Civil War strictly prohibits "troops or armed men" from being stationed at locations where elections are taking place unless it is necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States. This, according to experts, is entirely and obviously illegal.