Will ICE Agents Play a Role in the 2026 US Midterm Elections? Rights Groups Fear Voter Intimidation
Democracy advocates and human rights groups in the United States are deeply worried about whether Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will play any role in the upcoming midterm elections. They fear the agency's presence on election day could sway the vote.
Since returning to office for a second term, President Donald Trump has embarked on a campaign to root out and deport the country's undocumented immigrants. Spearheading that campaign is ICE, a federal agency housed in the Department of Homeland Security.
Under Trump, the agency has grown substantially, boasting 22,000 officers and agents as of January, a staffing increase of 120 percent. Thanks to recent spending packages, ICE is also considered the best-funded federal law enforcement agency in the US.
The agency, founded in 2003, has come under increased scrutiny for its aggressive tactics and expedited hiring techniques. Immigration agents have been responsible for at least 25 shootings since the start of Trump's second term, six of which have been fatal. At least 60 people have also died in ICE custody since January 2025.
That track record has made democracy advocates and human rights groups worried about ICE's activities in the lead-up to the November 3 midterm elections. Organisations like Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have voiced concern that the Trump administration could use ICE to intimidate voters.
The threat of encountering ICE agents could also keep some voters away from the ballot box, the groups say. One 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.
Federal law prohibits the use of armed federal agents at polling stations, and some states have similar provisions. The federal prohibition dates back to 1865 and makes it illegal for anyone in the civil, military or naval service of the United States to bring troops or armed men to election sites. There is, however, a loophole if such force is needed to keep peace at the polls or to repel armed enemies of the United States.
Another federal law prohibits members of the military from interfering with elections, and several other laws prohibit efforts to intimidate voters. Those measures have been tested this year: during the primaries there were at least two incidents — one in San Antonio, Texas, and another in Ventura County, California — where ICE agents reportedly conducted routine operations near polling stations. In both cases, the agents left after being asked to do so by local police.
Advocacy groups say the Trump administration has nevertheless used ICE agents for election-related matters. One of ICE's offices is Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). In the months leading up to this year's midterms, HSI has reportedly been ordered to prioritise investigations of non-citizen voting, an illegal act, since only US citizens may vote in federal elections.
Starting in August, the Department of Homeland Security deployed HSI agents for field investigations in at least nine states to probe questions of voter eligibility. Some have reportedly gone door to door, asking residents if they are citizens and if they plan to vote. This week, a federal judge ordered the department to pause those investigations, citing the risk that a US citizen could be wrongly swept up and subjected to intimidation, and noting a high likelihood of error in how agents were identifying alleged non-citizens.
Trump has pointed to non-citizen voting as support for his false claims of pervasive voter fraud. Experts say such fears are unfounded, with tiny numbers of non-citizens actually taking part in elections, despite Trump's depictions of the issue as a widespread problem. Trump officials have refused to rule out using ICE agents to stop illegal voting, an effort that could extend to election day itself. In May, asked whether he would send the National Guard or ICE to voting locations in November, Trump declined to answer directly, saying he would do anything necessary to make sure of honest elections. In September, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin affirmed that ICE would not patrol polling stations, but suggested its agents could be there for other reasons — if there is a threat to that polling place or to serve a warrant on someone being actively tracked. Attorney General Todd Blanche, at a conservative conference in March, questioned the uproar, asking why there is an objection to sending ICE to polling stations when, as he put it, illegals can't vote.
The Trump administration's rhetoric has raised alarm among rights groups, who fear an ICE presence on election day could dampen voter turnout. On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch called on the administration to order ICE agents not to deploy near polling stations or other midterm election sites. Its executive director Philippe Bolopion said ICE officers' abuses have already seriously affected US citizens who have been stopped, beaten, detained, deported and even killed, and that voters should not have to fear being caught in an ICE dragnet when they head to the polls. On October 16, Amnesty International issued a similar appeal, saying eligible voters must have the meaningful opportunity to participate in elections without discriminatory and arbitrary barriers, intimidation by armed forces, or fear of harm. As election day approaches, this debate has become one of the biggest questions before the vote.
