Civil rights group says sending ICE to polls would ‘intimidate voters’

A Latino civil rights group filed a lawsuit Sept. 10 aimed at keeping Immigration and Customs Enforcement out of polling places at the upcoming midterm elections, saying sending armed forces to U.S. polling places will "intimidate voters."

The lawsuit, filed by the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), follows Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stating ICE officers can go to polling places across the United States. Mullin said ICE officers will go to polling places in response to "specific threats" or to serve a warrant.

Critics say Mullin’s policy is aimed at intimidating voters, will upend longstanding American norms, and violate a law keeping armed forces out of polling places that dates back to the end of the Civil War.

"This policy does its damage before a single officer walks through the door," said Juan Proaño, LULAC's CEO. "When a grandmother who has voted for 40 years, a naturalized citizen casting her first ballot, or a young man whose parents lack status hears that ICE may be waiting at the polls, many of them will stay home."

He added: "That is the chilling effect, and it falls hardest on Latino families in mixed-status households."

DHS on Sept.

Original source: https://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/