Press Release: 2/6/2026

Markey Raises Alarm Bells Over the Trump Administration's Threats of ICE at Polling Locations

 

Washington (February 5, 2026) – Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) today released the following statement in response to growing recognition that the Trump administration’s immigration policies are tied to efforts to subvert free and fair elections in the United States.

On January 24—the same day that masked federal agents murdered Alex Pretti in cold blood on the streets of Minneapolis, Attorney General Pam Bondi offered to “bring law and order” to Minnesota in exchange for the state’s voter rolls. Days later, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) seized 2020 election ballots in Fulton County, Georgia, and Trump urged congressional Republicans to “nationalize the voting” in more than a dozen states. Just this week, Trump’s former advisor Steve Bannon suggested that ICE officers would “surround the polls” in 2026.

“Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown isn’t just racist—it’s a poorly veiled effort to rig the 2026 election,” said Senator Markey. “For months, Trump has been unleashing his ICE thugs onto our streets to terrorize people, suppress dissent, and overwhelm our communities at sensitive locations such as houses of worship, courtrooms, and even schools. It should be no surprise when Trump tries to unlawfully aim his private army of ICE officers against voters at polling places and election sites in 2026. Trump and MAGA Republicans know their failed policies will not win at the ballot box, so they are left trying to steal elections.”