Steve Bannon, the former White House strategist and right-wing podcast host, has called for immigration agents to be stationed at polling sites during the US midterm elections in November. The proposal, made on his War Room show, has heightened concerns among election officials about potential interference from the Trump administration.
Bannon, who holds no formal power but remains influential on the far right, falsely claimed that undocumented immigrants vote in large numbers in US elections. “You’re damn right we’re gonna have ICE surround the polls come November,” he said on Tuesday, repeating debunked assertions that such participation has led to Democratic victories.
Election officials nationwide have grown increasingly worried about the prospect of immigration agents near polling places, particularly in Democratic areas. Law enforcement presence at polls is generally viewed negatively, as it can intimidate voters, including US citizens and legal residents, who may fear detention or racial profiling.
Former President Donald Trump has also suggested federalising elections, which are run by local and state jurisdictions, and has falsely claimed that Democrats have stolen elections. His executive order requiring proof of citizenship to vote has been largely blocked by courts, and similar bills in Congress have stalled.
In Minnesota, where thousands of immigration agents have recently surged, US Attorney General Pam Bondi demanded the state turn over its voter rolls to the federal government. The Department of Justice has sued several states for access to voter rolls, but election officials have resisted over privacy and security concerns.
“Let’s put you on notice again: ICE is going to be around the polls in the 2026 midterm elections,” Bannon said, adding that Democrats are “the credentialed class” who keep “the abject poor … on these social welfare programs and never let them off it”.
