Lawsuits Seek to Bar Federal Law-Enforcement Presence at Polling Sites

Civil-rights groups and labor unions filed a new lawsuit in Washington, D.C., asserting that deploying armed federal officers to polling places violates a federal statute dating to the Civil War era and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, which prohibits intimidation of voters. The complaint contends that the Trump administration’s public statements and the Department of Homeland Security’s “Unlawful Voter Initiative” rely on flawed data and could lead to unlawful detention of U.S. citizens, especially those from Black, Latino and Asian communities.

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A poll released this week by the University of California San Diego finds that roughly 40 % of voters believe ICE agents are likely to appear at voting locations in their area. The same survey shows voters of color are significantly more likely than white voters to fear that voting could expose them to immigration questioning, a dynamic officials warn could depress turnout even if no enforcement actions occur.

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The White House reiterated that President Trump has not discussed any plan to station ICE at the polls. FBI Director Kash Patel, testifying before Congress, declined to rule out the possibility of FBI agents at polling places but affirmed that any deployment would “follow the law.”

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Bethany Li, executive director of the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund, likened the current climate to the civil-rights era intimidation that spurred the Voting Rights Act.

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• “Every single meeting I have, there's somebody that asks the question, 'What can we do if federal agents are at the polls?'” — Paul López

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• “We have a plan put together just in case if that happens and it's not going to be a good day for any ICE agent or any other federal agent or anybody trying to intimidate anybody at the polls,” — Paul López

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• “I think what we're seeing is a replay of all the fears and harms that Black communities experienced during the civil rights era that led to the Voting Rights Act in the first place,” — Bethany Li, executive director at the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund

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These lawsuits, polling data, and agency statements illustrate a growing tension between federal enforcement priorities and voter-protection statutes as the 2026 elections approach.

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