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A top Department of Homeland Security official vowed during a private call with election officials Wednesday that immigration officers will not be stationed at polling places in November amid Democratic warnings about interference in the midterms by the federal government.
Heather Honey, the department’s deputy assistant secretary for election integrity, dismissed as “disinformation” any fears that officers from Immigration Customs and Enforcement would be deployed to the polls as part of President Donald Trump’s ongoing mass deportation campaign.
“Any suggestion that ICE is going to be present at polling places is simply disinformation,” Honey said, according to four people on the call who were granted anonymity to discuss it. “There will be no ICE presence at polling locations.”
Honey’s words, and her background as a denier of the 2020 election, did not eliminate fears from Democrats, who have been battling with the Trump administration over election issues, especially the Justice Department’s requests for private voter rolls.
“I can't depend on an election denier like that for the truth under any circumstances,” said Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, a Democrat who was on the call. “So, they need to get better spokespeople who actually have some integrity.”
The sparring over ICE officers at polling places reflects Democratic fears that the federal government will insert itself into the midterms and as Trump himself has said his administration “ought to nationalize the voting.”
Administration officials from four departments — the Election Assistance Commission, Department of Homeland Security, Justice Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation — were on the call, which was organized for a routine discussion of federal assistance ahead of November.
Fontes said little substance was shared on the call outside of the commitment to not having ICE at polling places.
“I really don't know exactly what the purpose of this call was other than window dressing,” he said.
Another person on the call said it was the latest example of “conflicting messages” coming from the Trump administration on election issues.
“They want both to intimidate and control the states and to try to demonstrate business as usual, so they're sending very conflicting messages to all of us about what they want their role to be in 2026,” the person said.
“It felt like kind of a cover your butt kind of call, so they have now checked the box that they have met with election officials from across the country,” a third person on the call said.
English (US)