Mullin says ICE ‘only’ deployed at midterm polls if ‘threat’ arises

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said Sunday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement would “only” be deployed at polls during the midterms if a “threat” arises.

“Briefly, at your hearing recently, you didn’t rule out sending ICE agents to the polls in the midterms. Are you willing to rule out sending ICE agents?” CNN’s Kasie Hunt asked Mullin on “State of the Union.”

“No, what I said is that we would only be there if a threat has arised —” Mullin responded.

“So, you’re not ruling it out?” Hunt pressed.

“No, keep in mind, why would ICE be there, because only people that should be voting there is American citizens. There shouldn’t be any immigration enforcement,” he added.

Mullin added later that “if a threat were to arise, for whatever reason, at a polling station, say a bomb threat would be called in, our ICE agents are more than just immigration [and] custom[s] enforcement, they’re also trained to have [special response teams], which means that we can have an emergency team respond quickly.”

“The only reason why we would be there is not for voter identification, it’d be because a law enforcement is needed and the local law enforcement would be part of that conversation, so we wouldn’t show up on our own,” he added.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has faced controversy over President Trump’s strict immigration agenda, especially after federal immigration authorities killed two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year.

Earlier this year, former White House strategist and podcaster Steve Bannon suggested that he wanted to see ICE officers “surround the polls” during the midterm elections this fall.

“You’re damn right we’re going to have ICE surround the polls come November,” Bannon said on his “War Room” podcast.

“We’re not going to sit here and allow you to steal the country again. And you can whine and cry and throw your toys out of the pram all you want, but we will never again allow an election to be stolen,” he continued.