How will a Civil War-era law determine the fate of armed federal agents at your local polling place this November?

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A federal judge’s reading of an 1865 election-protection law could decide whether armed ICE officers can appear at polling places or ballot drop boxes this November. The lawsuit centers on 18 U.S.C. § 592, a Civil War-era statute that makes it a crime for federal officials to order, bring or keep “troops or armed men” at any place where an election is held, unless the force is necessary to repel “armed enemies of the United States.” The plaintiffs say that language covers armed federal law enforcement, including ICE officers, not just soldiers. They argue the law leaves almost no room for routine immigration enforcement at voting sites. That matters because DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin recently said ICE could be present at polling places if there were a threat or if agents were serving a warrant. The challengers say those are ordinary law-enforcement functions, not the kind of wartime emergency the statute allows. They also cite other federal laws barring voter intimidation and interference. If the court agrees, it could issue an injunction blocking armed federal agents from polling places before voting begins, and possibly extend that protection to election offices and drop boxes if it finds those are also “places where an election is held.” If the court sides with the government, the administration would have more legal room to argue that limited deployments are permitted in narrow circumstances. So the immediate fate of armed federal agents at local voting sites will li…

LULAC, Denver Sue DHS and ICE Over Armed Officers at Polling Places

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LULAC, Denver Sue DHS and ICE Over Armed Officers at Polling Places

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