Tom Homan, a top Trump administration official, has stated that there are no plans to deploy U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers to polling sites during the 2026 midterm elections for the purpose of arresting illegal immigrants. This clarification comes in response to fears raised by Democratic politicians and progressive organizations concerned about voter intimidation. Homan’s statement follows a lawsuit filed by Democracy Forward on behalf of several groups, including the League of United Latin American Citizens and Common Cause, seeking to prevent ICE from being present at polling locations.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-14,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Tom Homan, a top official in the Trump administration's White House border team, clarified on Sunday that ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) has no plans to send officers to polling sites during the 2026 midterm elections to arrest undocumented immigrants. This statement addresses months of concerns raised by Democratic politicians who feared voter intimidation tactics at election sites. Homan asserted there were no operational plans or discussions for such enforcement operations, dismissing these fears as unfounded and another tactic to attack ICE and the administration's policies. His comments follow increased pressure from Democrat-led cities and progressive organizations demanding that ICE personnel not be present at polling locations this fall. Democracy Forward recently filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE in federal court over similar concerns.
Written for “ICE Immigration Enforcement Policy” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
Why this leaning score
The model judged this article politically coded and scored it +0.35, but all 2 of its quote(s) are attributed speech - words the article quotes from someone, not the article's own narration, so the score is not published.
Written under an earlier scoring contract, which gave a paragraph
rather than checkable quotes. Re-analysing this article replaces it.
Leaning score withheld for article 9329: attributed speech only · logged 2026-09-14
The Trump administration has no plans to send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to polling sites in the United States to arrest illegal immigrants during the 2026 midterm elections, according to a top administration official.
uncertain
administration → have → official
White House border czar Tom Homan clarified on Sunday that ICE will not be present at voting sites for the purpose of finding and detaining people who are in the country illegally.
asserted
who → clarify → country
His statement follows months of counterclaims from Democratic politicians and wishy-washy messaging from Republicans on the topic.
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statement → follow → topic
“I want to put that to bed.
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I → want → bed
There is no plan to sweep polling places looking for illegal aliens,” Homan told Fox News’s The Sunday Briefing co-host Jacqui Heinrich.
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Homan → be → Briefing
“I have not seen any operational plans or any discussions on any immigration enforcement operation at polling places.
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I → see → places
Homan’s comment comes on the heels of escalating pressure from Democrat-led cities and progressive organizations to prevent ICE personnel from being present at polling locations this fall.
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comment → come → locations
Late last week, Democracy Forward sued the Department of Homeland Security and ICE in federal district court in Washington, D.C., on behalf of the League of United Latin American Citizens, Common Cause, UnidosUS, and the city of Denver.
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Forward → sue → Denver
“The specter of armed officers at polling places threatens the freedom of this upcoming election,” their lawsuit stated.
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lawsuit → threaten → election
“It places voters in fear that they will be confronted by armed federal law enforcement if they choose to cast a ballot.”
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they → place → ballot
Democratic state parties announced Monday that they will launch an effort to recruit and deploy 10,000 volunteers to stand around at polling places in case ICE shows up.
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ICE → announce → case
The groups have pointed to statements from other Trump administration officials, including Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, that ICE would not be at polling sites “to patrol,” leaving room to interpret that ICE could be present, just not for immigration-related reasons.
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ICE → point → reasons
“The only reason why we would be at polling places is if there is a threat to that polling place or we’re serving a warrant on someone that we have been actively tracking down,” Mullin said during a press conference in New York City on Sept. 1.
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Mullin → be → Sept.
If we’re serving a warrant, we will be where we need to be.”
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we → serve → warrant
Some conservatives, including President Donald Trump’s former top 2016 campaign aide Steve Bannon, have called for ICE to “surround the polls.”
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ICE → include → polls
By federal law, noncitizens are not allowed to vote in federal elections, including House and Senate races.
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noncitizens → allow → races
Elected officials are also forbidden from overseeing or ordering the deployment of “any troops or armed men [to] any place where a general or special election is held,” except for when it is needed to protect from “armed enemies of the United States.”
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it → elect → States
Homan described Democrats’ concerns about election security as misguided.
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Homan → describe → security
“I mean, they don’t want ICE near the polling places.
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ICE → mean → places
They don’t want to vote for voter ID.
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They → want → ID
They don’t want observers.
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They → want → observers
What have they got to hide to begin with, right?
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they → get → What
” Homan said.
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Homan → say → ?
It’s just another attempt to smear ICE, to smear the president.”
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It → ’ → president
