Illinois congressmen worry as DHS Secretary seeks to ‘protect election
integrity’
[June 22, 2026]
By Sean Reed | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A potential plan to deploy federal immigration
agents to polling places this fall is illegal and would suppress voters,
an Illinois congressman warned this week, while demanding answers from
top brass at the Department of Homeland Security.
In a letter to DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Rep. Raja
Krishnamoorthi, D-Ill., warned that sending ICE or Homeland Security
personnel to voting sites would be illegal and create a “chilling
effect” on voter rights.
“Even the perceived presence of immigration enforcement personnel near
polling places, especially in communities with large immigrant or
mixed-status populations, could chill lawful voter participation and
undermine confidence in the fair and impartial administration of
elections,” Krishnamoorthi wrote in his letter.
Last week, Mullin made the argument to CNN hosts that ICE deployment
shouldn’t be ruled out, citing a potential for non-citizens to
fraudulently attempt to vote in the coming election.
“We're going to make sure that our constitution is upheld, meaning that
only citizens of the United States are voting. That's the most important
thing we can do to protect the integrity of our election,” Mullin said.
In April, Sean Morales-Doyle, director of voting rights and elections
with the Brennan Center for Justice, spoke to the Illinois
Accountability Commission in a hearing.
The commission was created by the state in response to DHS’s Operation
Midway Blitz, which sought to detain undocumented immigrants with
criminal records in the Chicago area in September of last year – but
faced heavy local scrutiny for how agencies conducted the operation.
Morales-Doyle testified that his organization had no indication of any
active plans by the federal governments to deploy agents at the polling
locations.
“We at the Brennan Center are not aware of any plans currently underway
within the federal government to deploy armed law enforcement to the
polls. Indeed, administration officials have denied the existence of any
such plans,” Morales-Doyle said.
Despite concerns, Morales-Doyle said the potential for agents to be
deployed primarily creates fear in voters that could make them hesitant
to show up to polls.
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Law enforcement officers assist with immigration enforcement efforts
in New York on Jan. 28, 2025. Photo: Tia Dufour / U.S. Department of
Homeland Security / Public Domain
“The sheer number of individual election districts and polling
places around our country mean that no matter what ICE or CBP try to
do, the vast majority of voters in this country will remain
unaffected,” Morales-Doyle said.
U.S. Rep. Delia Ramirez, D-Ill., issued a statement last week after
reporting from Axios revealed Homeland Security Investigations, a
unit within DHS, obtained local voter rolls from two counties – one
in Texas and the other North Carolina.
“The Trump administration is using DHS to violate our rights, erode
our privacy, chill dissent, and consolidate power. We will not
concede the power of the people,” Ramirez said in the statement.
Data collected by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank
with close ties to the current administration, shows 44 cases of
voter fraud nationwide in 2024.
The U.S. Census Bureau reported that roughly 154 million people
voted in the 2024 election.
Illinois lawmakers sought to prevent people from concealed carrying
a gun while at a polling location, which drove criticisms from
Republicans who worried it could infringe upon the duties of law
enforcement officers. The initiative did not progress.
Lawmakers also overwhelmingly passed a resolution urging federal
agencies to refrain from operating near or at polling locations,
while also affirming that the Illinois State Board of Elections
administer all upcoming elections without allowing for interference
from any third party.
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