ICE won't be at polling places this year, a Trump DHS official promises [View all]

Source: NPR

February 25, 2026 4:38 PM ET


In a call Wednesday with many of the top voting officials across the country, a senior Department of Homeland Security official stated that Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents would not be patrolling polling places during this year's midterm elections.

"Any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation," said Heather Honey, DHS assistant secretary for election integrity, according to a participant on the call who spoke to NPR on the condition of anonymity. "There will be no ICE presence at polling locations." Kentucky Republican Secretary of State Michael Adams confirmed the promise in a social media post as well.

Federal law prohibits federal troops or law enforcement from interfering with voting, and states have the constitutional authority to run their own elections.

But for all of his second term, President Trump has voiced an openness to unprecedented involvement by the federal government in those state processes.

Read more: https://www.npr.org/2026/02/25/nx-s1-5726768/ice-agents-midterm-elections