Karoline Leavitt ‘can't guarantee' ICE agents won’t be outside of polls at November midterms

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt has said she can't ‘guarantee’ that ICE agents won't be standing outside polling locations during the midterm elections later this year.

During a press briefing on February 5, a reporter asked Leavitt about the possibility of ICE enforcement outside polling stations when the midterm elections take place on November 3.

The question was sparked by recent remarks made by former White House strategist Steve Bannon, who claimed on his podcast earlier in the week: "We're going to have ICE surround the polls come November."

Seeking clarity on whether this was the case, the reporter asked Leavitt whether this was something on President Donald Trump’s radar, to which she responded that she ‘can’t guarantee’ that it won’t happen.

However, she did go on to clarify that it was a very specific hypothetical question and to her knowledge, there are no current plans for it to take place.

Leavitt was asked directly about potential ICE enforcement at the upcoming midterms ( Alex Wong/Getty Images)

“That’s not something I’ve ever heard the president consider, no,” she told reporters. “I can’t guarantee that an ICE agent won’t be around a polling location in November.”

“I mean, frankly, that’s a very silly, hypothetical question," she added. "But what I can tell you is I haven’t heard the president discuss any formal plans to put ICE outside of polling locations.”

Every House seat and 33 Senate seats on the ballot will all be up for grabs during the November midterms, with the election coming at a time of increased scrutiny over the current administration - particularly in regard to the ICE operations taking place in Minneapolis, and across the wider US.

At least eight people have died in dealings with ICE or while in custody in the first few weeks of 2026; these include the high-profile killings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti.

The subject of ICE enforcement has become one of the most polarising issues in US politics (Douglas Rissing / Getty Images)

While the Trump administration has sent out mixed messaging regarding their stance on the deaths, there has been widespread public condemnation of the killings - including from the National Rifle Association.

Trump himself is also feeling the pressure of the upcoming midterms, which fall just two years into his second term in the White House, having previously expressed fears he ‘will be impeached’ if the Republicans don’t retain their seats.

“You got to win the midterms, because if we don’t win the midterms, they’ll find a reason to impeach me,” Trump said in an attempt to rally voters last month. “I’ll get impeached.”

The comments came after the Democrats had been steadily gaining traction in the polls throughout the first year of Trump’s second term, with concerns about his stance on immigration policy, his foreign policy, and his cavalier command of the economy among the key issues worrying voters.