Since taking office for his second term, US President Donald Trump has embarked on a campaign to remove and deport illegal immigrants from the country.
Spearheading this campaign is Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a federal agency under the Department of Homeland Security.
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The agency has grown significantly under the Trump administration, with 22,000 officers and employees as of January, a 120% increase in headcount.
Thanks to recent spending plans, ICE is also considered the best-funded federal law enforcement agency in the United States.
But the agency, founded in 2003, has come under increasing scrutiny for its aggressive tactics and rapid hiring techniques.
Immigration agents under the authority of ICE and other agencies have committed at least 25 shootings, six of them fatal, since the beginning of President Trump’s second term. At least 60 people have died while in ICE custody since January 2025.
This track record has democracy and human rights groups concerned about ICE’s activities in the run-up to the Nov. 3 midterm elections.
Groups such as Human Rights Watch and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) have expressed concern that the Trump administration could use ICE to intimidate voters.
The fear of encountering ICE agents may also deter some voters from the ballot box, the group said. A national poll conducted by the University of California, San Diego in September found that 40% of respondents expected to see ICE agents near polling places on Election Day.
Can ICE agents legally operate at or near polling places?
Federal law prohibits the use of armed federal officers at polling places. Some states have similar regulations.
Federal prohibition dates back to 1865. The law makes it illegal for “any person engaged in the civil, military, or naval service of the United States” to command or escort “troops or armed persons” to an election site.
But there is a loophole if such force is necessary “to maintain peace at a polling place” or “to repel an armed enemy of the United States.”
Another federal law prohibits military personnel from interfering in elections, and several others prohibit efforts to “intimidate” voters.
Those measures were tested this year. At least two incidents occurred during the midterm election primaries. One in San Antonio, Texas, and the other in Ventura County, California, where ICE agents were reportedly conducting routine operations near polling places.
In both cases, ICE officers left at the request of local police.
How has the Trump administration utilized ICE agents ahead of the election?
Law enforcement is prohibited near polling places, but advocacy groups say the Trump administration is still using ICE agents for election-related matters.
ICE has various offices under its jurisdiction, one of which is Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
In the months leading up to this year’s midterm elections, HSI was reportedly ordered to prioritize investigating illegal non-referendum votes. Only U.S. citizens can vote in federal elections.
Starting in August, the Department of Homeland Security sent HSI officers on “field investigations” in at least nine states to investigate voter eligibility issues.
Some reportedly went door to door asking residents if they were citizens and if they intended to vote.
This week, a federal judge ordered the Department of Homeland Security to suspend these investigations, saying they could expose U.S. citizens to “unreasonable investigations” and “intimidation.”
The judge also noted that there is a “high probability of error” in how federal officials identify alleged noncitizens.
President Trump has cited non-referendum votes to support his false claims of widespread voter fraud.
But experts say such concerns are unfounded, with only a small number of non-citizens actually participating in elections, despite Trump’s depiction of the issue as a widespread problem.
What is the Trump administration saying about ICE deployments during the midterm elections?
Trump officials have not ruled out using ICE agents to prevent illegal voting, but the effort could continue into Election Day.
In May, President Trump was asked by reporters, “Will you send the National Guard or ICE to polling places in November for the midterm elections?”
President Trump declined to give a direct answer. “I’m going to do whatever it takes to make sure we have an honest election. We have to have an honest election,” he responded.
Other leaders of the administration issued similar statements. For example, in September, Homeland Security Secretary Mark Wayne Mullin asserted that ICE would not “patrol” polling places, but suggested that its agents might be there for other reasons.
“The only reason we would go to a polling place is if there is a threat to that polling place or if we are executing a warrant on someone that we are actively pursuing,” Mullin said.
Attorney General Todd Blanche, another Trump administration official, has questioned the fuss over the issue as misguided.
“Why is there opposition to sending ICE to voting places?” he asked at a conservative conference in March. “Illegal aliens can’t vote. It makes no sense.”
What has been the response from advocacy groups?
The Trump administration’s comments have alarmed many rights groups, who fear ICE presence on Election Day could reduce turnout.
On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch called on the Trump administration to order ICE agents not to deploy near polling places or other midterm election sites.
“Abuse by ICE agents is already having a profound impact on American citizens, who are stopped, beaten, detained, deported, and even killed,” said Philippe Boropion, executive director of Human Rights Watch. “Voters need not fear being caught in ICE’s dragnet as they head to the polls.”
On October 16, rights group Amnesty International filed a similar complaint.
“Voters must be given a meaningful opportunity to participate in elections without discriminatory and arbitrary barriers, military intimidation, or fear of harm when attempting to exercise their rights,” the group said.
