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After dozens of violent raids and untimely deaths in squalid jails, as well as several high-profile killings at the hands of President Donald Trump’s immigration police, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters on Tuesday that he “can’t guarantee” Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents won’t be present at the polls when voters arrive to cast ballots in upcoming elections.

Trump ally Steve Bannon is calling for an “up-armored ICE presence” to “surround the polls come November,” and Democrats are increasingly worried about voter suppression as Republicans in Congress face a potential midterm rebuke from voters. With Trump once again raising false alarms about immigrants engaging in voter fraud, and a broader crackdown on free speech and dissent underway, the prospect of poorly trained ICE recruits intimidating people at polling sites in majority Black and Brown neighborhoods is a top concern.

While Mullin said ICE would respond to “specific threats” rather than “patrol the polling place,” he indicated that a report of an undocumented person could be reason enough to deploy agents at or near a polling site. Shortly after taking office, Trump officials ditched rules that prohibited immigration arrests at public locations such as schools that often host elections. In cruel displays that go viral online, masked ICE agents have arrested parents dropping kids off at school and at school bus stops.

“If we’re serving a warrant, we will be where we need to be,” Mullin said.

Midterm voters could play a major role in reining in ICE’s neighborhood invasions and deadly violence if they reject pro-ICE incumbents in the midterms and make Trump a true lame duck — but in order to do so they would need to overcome racist gerrymandering and efforts by the administration and right-wing forces to suppress turnout. Organizers have been preparing for this moment since at least June 2025, when Trump sent federal troops to occupy Los Angeles, California, as ICE conducted raids and mass protests erupted, according to Mary Corcoran, executive director of the Save America Movement.

Johnson Says He’ll Use Reconciliation to Pass Voter Suppression Bill

“Just having the possibility of them showing up in the air could create a chilling effect on people’s willingness to come to the polls; we’ve seen situations where ICE shoots first and asks your immigration status later,” Corcoran told Truthout........

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