Denver and civil rights groups sue over armed ICE at polls

The city of Denver, two Latino civil rights organizations and a voting rights group filed a federal lawsuit this week seeking to block armed Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from being present at polling places during the 2026 midterm elections. The complaint was filed Thursday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia by the city and county of Denver, the League of United Latin American Citizens, UnidosUS and Common Cause. It names the Department of Homeland Security, ICE, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and acting ICE Director David Venturella as defendants. The legal advocacy group Democracy Forward is representing the plaintiffs, and the case has been assigned to U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan. The lawsuit argues that a policy articulated by DHS and Mullin in early September allowing ICE officers to be deployed to polling places in certain circumstances violates a federal statute that bars military personnel or other armed agents from locations where federal elections are held, except where such force is necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.