Arlington sues to keep armed federal agents away from polling places

By Hannah Prewitt

ARLINGTON, Va. — With early voting already underway, the Arlington County Board is asking a federal judge to declare that armed federal immigration and FBI agents may not operate at or near the county’s polling places, early voting sites and ballot drop-off locations during the Nov. 3 elections.

The complaint, filed Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia in Alexandria, names the Department of Homeland Security, Secretary Markwayne Mullin, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and acting ICE Director David Venturella, along with the Justice Department, Todd Blanche, the FBI and Director Kash Patel. The case is docketed as No. 1:26-cv-03505.

The county is represented by Democracy Forward and the Public Rights Project, working with the Arlington County Attorney’s Office, according to a release the county republished on its website.

What the county says the policies are

The complaint describes two policies. It says Mullin confirmed on Sept. 1 that DHS policy authorizes armed ICE officers to go to polling places to conduct civil immigration and customs enforcement operations, including serving warrants, which the suit calls the “DHS Polling Place Policy.” It says Patel took a similar position for the FBI: asked under oath to confirm the bureau “w[as]n’t going to be sending people to the polls,” he called that “just another lie” and said “this FBI is not going to shy away from” securing election integrity, according to the filing, which cites video of his Senate testimony.

The county argues both policies run into 18 U.S.C. § 592, a Reconstruction-era criminal statute that bars federal officers from bringing troops or armed men to a place where a general or special election is held, unless it is necessary “to repel armed enemies of the United States.”

The suit also claims the policies violate the Administrative Procedure Act, exceed the agencies’ statutory authority and intrude on state and local authority to run elections. It asks the court to declare the policies unlawful, set them aside and bar armed federal agents from election sites except in the narrow circumstances the statute allows.

The cost to the county

Arlington says the threat has already changed how it prepares for Election Day. Officials have written new guidance for responding to federal agents and run what the release calls “unprecedented emergency preparedness exercises” involving election officials, police and prosecutors, and the county has fielded concerns from residents worried about armed officers at the polls. The complaint says Arlington “has never before needed to prepare for these threat scenarios.”

“Threatening to send armed agents to polling stations is unlawful and contravenes the bedrock values of free and fair elections we hold dear in this country,” County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said in the release. “These statements are a clear attempt to stoke fear and undermine confidence in our elections.”

Skye Perryman, president and chief executive of Democracy Forward, said local officials “should be focused on ensuring that every eligible voter can participate safely and freely, not diverting taxpayer dollars preparing for unlawful federal interference.” Toby Merrill, litigation director at the Public Rights Project, said, “Federal immigration enforcement has no place at the polls.”

What happens next

The public docket listed no hearing date as of Thursday. Early voting in Arlington continues through Oct. 31, and polls are open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Nov. 3, according to the Virginia Department of Elections.

The Arlington suit is one of several election-season challenges to federal enforcement activity. On Wednesday, a federal judge in Oakland, Calif., issued a preliminary injunction limiting DHS election-related field operations involving likely U.S. citizens in nine states. Virginia is not among them.

A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said after publication: “ICE is not planning operations targeting polling locations.” The spokesperson said ICE “conducts intelligence-driven targeted enforcement.”

The Inquisitor asked the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Arlington County, Democracy Forward, the Public Rights Project and the ACLU of Virginia about the case, including whether DHS or the FBI plans any enforcement activity at Virginia polling places and whether the county will seek emergency relief before Election Day. DHS has since responded; its statement is included above. The ACLU of Virginia referred questions to the national ACLU, and Arlington County said it was gathering information. This story will be updated with any other responses.

Update, Oct. 23, 2026: This story has been updated with a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.

Photo: A polling place sign. Mrs. Gemstone / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0.