WASHINGTON, Feb 25 - The U.S. Department of Homeland Security told state election officials on Wednesday that it does not intend to carry out immigration enforcement operations targeting polling stations during the upcoming midterm elections.
The clarification came during a virtual briefing that included the department, the federal Election Assistance Commission and other agencies. On the call, Heather Honey, a deputy assistant secretary for election integrity at the Department of Homeland Security, told state officials, "Any suggestion that ICE will be present at any polling location is simply not true," a comment reported by Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes.
Other state officials voiced constitutional and practical concerns during the briefing. Maine Secretary of State Shenna Bellows said it would be unconstitutional for the Trump administration to deploy Immigration and Customs Enforcement to polling places. Her remarks were made in the context of a question from California Secretary of State Shirley Weber about whether states would be notified in advance of any immigration operations at polling sites, according to Weber's office.
Separately, a Homeland Security official told Reuters that there are limited circumstances in which ICE agents might have to appear at a polling location. Specifically, the official said ICE could be present if an active public safety threat endangered a polling place and if an arrest were necessary as the result of targeted enforcement action. The statement framed such appearances as responses to emergent safety situations rather than pre-planned operations aimed at voters or election sites.
The U.S. will hold midterm elections on Nov. 3, with primary contests beginning next month to determine party nominees for gubernatorial, congressional and other offices. The election comes as President Donald Trump pursues an assertive immigration policy that critics, including immigrant advocates and Democrats, have said has produced crackdowns led by masked federal immigration agents.
Context from the briefing underscores two distinct messages from federal officials: an explicit denial that ICE will be stationed at polling locations as a matter of policy, and a narrower caveat that agents could appear in the event of an active threat that requires immediate enforcement action. State election officials on the call asked for assurance about notification and the protection of constitutional voting rights, and several raised objections to any deployment of immigration enforcement at polling sites.
Officials and election administrators will likely continue to seek clarity from DHS and related agencies as primaries and the general election approach. The department's dual statements - a categorical denial of planned ICE presence at polling sites alongside the limited exception for public safety incidents - leave open operational questions about how emergent threats would be handled near voting locations.