A national poll conducted in September by the University of California, San Diego found that 40 percent of respondents expected ICE agents to be present near polling stations on election day, and rights groups warn the threat of such encounters could keep some voters away from the ballot box.
Under President Donald Trump's second term, ICE has grown substantially, with 22,000 officers and agents as of January, a staffing increase of 120 percent. Recent spending packages have made it the best-funded federal law enforcement agency in the US, but the agency, founded in 2003, has drawn scrutiny over its tactics. Immigration agents have been responsible for at least 25 shootings since the start of Trump's second term, six of them fatal, and at least 60 people have died in ICE custody since January 2025.
Federal law dating to 1865 prohibits armed federal agents at polling stations, unless force is needed to keep peace at the polls or repel armed enemies. Several other laws bar efforts to intimidate voters. Those measures were tested during the primary elections, when ICE agents reportedly conducted routine operations near polling stations in San Antonio, Texas, and Ventura County, California. In both cases the agents left after local police asked them to.
The administration has already used ICE agents for election-related work. Beginning in August, Department of Homeland Security investigators were deployed for field investigations in at least nine states to probe voter eligibility, with some agents going door to door asking residents whether they are citizens and whether they plan to vote. This week a federal judge ordered DHS to pause those investigations, citing the risk that a US citizen could be wrongly swept up and intimidated, and a high likelihood of error in how agents identified alleged non-citizens.
President Trump has cited non-citizen voting to support his claims of pervasive voter fraud, which experts say are unfounded, with tiny numbers of non-citizens actually taking part in elections. Asked in May whether he would send the National Guard or ICE to voting locations, Trump declined to answer directly. "I'd do anything necessary to make sure we have honest elections," he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in September that ICE would not patrol polling stations, but that agents could be there if a polling place faced a threat or to serve a warrant. Attorney General Todd Blanche questioned the uproar, asking in March, "Why is there an objection to sending ICE to polling stations? Illegals can't vote."
Human Rights Watch called on Tuesday for the administration to order ICE agents not to deploy near polling stations. "Voters should not have to fear being caught in an ICE dragnet when they head to the polls," said Philippe Bolopion, the group's executive director. Amnesty International issued a similar appeal on October 16, saying eligible voters must be able to participate without intimidation by armed forces or fear of harm.