Raja Krishnamoorthi
Role at the time: U.S. representative from Illinois and member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform
Statement summary
In a September 4 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi (D-Ill.) wrote that voters should not have to wonder whether federal immigration agents could appear at or near their polling place, and that the presence of armed federal agents there could create confusion, fear or intimidation. He wrote that DHS cannot maintain both that ICE has "no reason" to be near a polling place and that its Special Response Teams stand ready to deploy there.
“With early voting and Election Day fast approaching, voters should not have to wonder whether federal immigration agents could appear at or near their polling place while they are casting their ballots. The presence of armed federal agents at or near a polling location—even when ostensibly responding to a separate law-enforcement matter—could create confusion, fear, or intimidation and could discourage eligible voters from exercising their constitutional right to vote. The Department cannot simultaneously maintain, on one hand, that ICE has ‘no reason’ to be near a polling place, and on the other, that its Special Response Teams stand ready to deploy there. As the Department's Secretary, you are uniquely positioned to end this ambiguity.”
Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi's press release announcing his letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin about ICE, CBP and other armed federal agents at polling places, with quoted passages from the letter.
Archived copy (opens in a new tab)Why we used this label
The reference point is the administration's stated or threatened use of ICE and other armed federal agents at or near polling places in the 2026 election. Krishnamoorthi wrote that the presence of armed federal agents at or near a polling location could create confusion, fear or intimidation and discourage eligible voters, that federal law restricts armed personnel at polling places, and that DHS cannot hold two contradictory positions on whether ICE could be near a polling place. That criticizes the stated or threatened use and the administration's refusal to rule it out, so we labeled it Condemned.