Batting down the fearmongers, Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin set the record straight on what role immigration enforcement could serve at polling places.
As primary elections continue across the country and the midterms draw nearer, prevailing concerns about election integrity persist. While states like California have only exacerbated the issue through efforts to block federal oversight, a question on U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents being present at the polls found the secretary ensuring it “shouldn’t” be for “any immigration enforcement.”
The statement came Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” during a sit-down with anchor Kasie Hunt, who raised previous testimony as she asked, “Briefly, at your hearing recently, you didn’t rule out sending ICE agents to the polls in the midterms. Are you willing to rule out sending ICE agents?”
“No, what I said is that we would only be there if a threat [arises],” responded Mullin as he was pressed further, “So, you’re not ruling it out?”
“No, keep in mind, why would ICE be there? Because the only people who should be voting there are American citizens. There shouldn’t be any immigration enforcement,” assured the secretary.
🚨 NOW: DHS Sec. Markwayne Mullin REFUSES to rule out sending ICE agents to polling places in the 2026 midterms
“The only people in line SHOULD be American citizens…should be no REASON to have any type of that…” 💯
He’s right! Why are they so concerned if “illegals never… pic.twitter.com/V2qtI5IQLl
— Eric Daugherty (@EricLDaugh) June 14, 2026
“Keep in mind, ICE agents are there to flex if we need to … If a threat were to arise, for whatever reason, at a polling station — say a bomb threat would be called in — our ICE agents are more than just immigration customs enforcement,” he reminded. “They’re also trained to have [special response teams], which means that we can have an emergency team respond quickly.”
Mulling went on to assert, “The only reason why we would be there is not for voter identification. It’d be because law enforcement is needed, and the local law enforcement would be part of that conversation. So, we wouldn’t show up on our own. We would be getting asked to show up.”
As previously reported, ICE agents played a key role in addressing delays at airports while Democratic lawmakers blocked funding for the Transportation Security Administration. Regarding those efforts, former White House chief strategist Steve Bannon wondered whether that help could be considered a “test run” for ICE involvement in November.
“Yeah, I think we should have ICE agents at the polling places,” came the response from Article III Project founder Mike Davis, “because if you’re an illegal alien, you can’t vote, right? It’s against the law. It’s a federal crime for you to vote in federal elections. And so, if you’re an American citizen, you should be happy that ICE is there because you’re not gonna have illegal aliens canceling out the vote.”
Are ICE agents at airports a test run for coverage at polls on election day? https://t.co/bNuyDo03g4 via @BIZPACReview
— BPR (@BIZPACReview) March 24, 2026
The exchange with Mullin came after Hunt acknowledged DHS’s historic role in safeguarding elections as she raised President Donald Trump’s March executive order that called for the department, “in coordination with the Social Security Administration, to compile and transmit to each State a State Citizenship List of confirmed U.S. citizens who will be 18 or older at the time of the next upcoming Federal election and reside in that State.”
Native of Brooklyn, NY, Kevin Haggerty is a graduate of Hunter College where he studied Cultural Anthropology and Geography. An avid reader and truth seeker, he currently resides in Texas with his wife and their dog and, when he isn't researching current events and their impacts, you'll find him spending time with friends and family or working on his next novel.
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