THE EXPLANATOR

A viral claim suggests immigration officers were told not to wear uniforms to avoid scaring away undocumented migrants. It is not true.

A viral and misleading Instagram video claimed that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement leaders banned employees from wearing uniforms at the polls to avoid alarming voters during the Nov. 5 vote.

“I just found out that in Arizona and Pennsylvania … they’ve been told by their superiors that when they go to the polls tomorrow, they’re not allowed to wear their uniforms or badges,” conservative commentator Ben Bergquam said in a statement from November 5. Instagram video.

“And they think it’s because Kamala Harris and Joe Biden don’t want to intimidate illegal aliens who vote,” he added.

Bergquam repeated those claims in an interview that morning with Steve Bannon, a single adviser to former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee.

Ice agents are told not to wear their uniforms to vote today. Can you believe this BS?

Actually, yes, yes I can. pic.twitter.com/ODEaqd4DPB

— Land Of ILLUSION (@Landofillusion1) November 5, 2024

The Instagram video was flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat fake news and misinformation in the news feed. (Read more about our partnership with Metawhich owns Facebook, Threads and Instagram.)

White House spokesman Andrew Bates told PolitiFact that the claim is false.

First, non-citizens are not eligible to vote in federal elections. Noncitizens who vote face federal and state penalties, including prison and, if in the country illegally, deportation.

Second, federal law prohibits armed and civilian law enforcement activities at polling places unless “necessary to repel armed enemies of the United States.” This provision prevents the enforcement of immigration rules at polling stations.

Field managers and agents in charge reminded employees not to wear uniforms and other markings while voting, citing US code.

“Like all federal law enforcement officers, the agency’s officers and agents are prohibited by federal statute from taking enforcement action at polling places,” a spokesperson for Immigration and Customs Enforcement told PolitiFact , Jeff Carter.

This isn’t the first time federal agencies have reminded employees about behavior during an election. In 2020, during Trump’s presidency, the Department of Defense reminded military service members about the uniform policy.

“All members of the armed forces, including active-duty members, non-active-duty reserve component members, and retired members are prohibited from wearing military uniforms to political campaign or election events,” a 2020 department memo said.

Federal law prohibits military service members from interfering in election processes.

Some states, including New York and Maryland, prohibit civilians from wearing military-style clothing to polling stations.

The statement that ICE officials were told not to wear uniforms to the polls so as not to intimidate non-citizens from voting contains an element of truth, but ignores critical facts that would give the impression otherwise. It reflects long-standing law regarding civilian law enforcement at polling places.

We rate the statement Mostly False.