Representatives from the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles and allied city officials held a news conference in downtown Los Angeles on Friday, raising concerns that a reported increase in federal immigration enforcement activity had been timed to discourage voting ahead of the midterm elections. CHIRLA policy director Jeannette Zanipatin described the proximity of that activity to the election period as deliberate and aimed at reducing civic participation within immigrant communities while deepening divisions at the neighborhood level.
Executive director Angelica Salas said CHIRLA and partner organizations planned to deploy legal observers at polling sites across California through the Can't Stop California coalition. With roughly 18 days remaining before the vote, Salas urged community members not to allow concerns about federal enforcement to deter them from going to the polls, saying the coalition would continue working to protect those it serves.
The statement included a commitment to safeguarding electoral participation for the population the organizations represent. The speaker characterized California as a progressive, pro-immigrant state, pointing to structures the state has established independently.
A request for comment directed at the Department of Homeland Security, which has oversight of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, had not received a reply at the time of publication. Federal law bars armed agents from being stationed at polling locations, and the Department of Homeland Security had previously stated it would not deploy personnel to voting sites, characterizing talk of such deployments as unfounded, according to a news outlet.
When asked by a reporter about deploying immigration enforcement agents at polling locations, Trump told the audience in May that he would take whatever steps were needed to ensure elections were conducted honestly.
Mail-in ballots for the Nov. 3 election had been distributed throughout California and were being accepted before that date, though some immigration advocacy groups noted that a rise in enforcement activity near immigrant communities could factor into whether eligible voters chose to cast ballots in person. Salas pointed out that detention numbers logged by immigration authorities that summer ran higher than those recorded in the preceding year.
Immigration enforcement activity described in reports was occurring alongside a separate federal dispute over the state's voting procedures. On Thursday, the Justice Department launched legal action against California over claims that votes cast by non-citizens had been counted in election tallies.
Also on Thursday, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass held a news conference laying out protective measures for immigrant residents in the city, including a plan to station Los Angeles Police Department officers to document the movements and actions of federal immigration enforcement personnel. Bass urged residents who had reservations about casting ballots in person to use the mail-in voting option instead.
Councilmember Imelda Padilla, whose district covers the northeast San Fernando Valley, described it as the area bearing the greatest burden, adding that footage circulating online documented disorder and a lack of professionalism affecting residents there. Padilla said neighbors who felt uneasy about driving or riding public transit could count on transportation assistance, while those with grocery or school-run needs were also covered under the mutual-aid steps she outlined for the community as enforcement operations continued.
