Maine gubernatorial candidate Bobby Charles said he plans to ask White House border czar Tom Homan to send U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to Maine polling stations this election season.
If Charles succeeds, the move could validate long-held fears by many in the Democratic Party that President Donald Trump could use immigration agents to intimidate voters or assist in potential efforts to tamper with election results.
“I’m going to ask Tom — three or four weeks before the election, maybe three — I’m going to make an appeal for ICE and marshals to be at our voting booths,” Charles said last week in an audio recording obtained and reported first by the Bangor Daily News Wednesday. “Do you think the illegals who are being paid money are going to like that?”
The Republican nominee’s comments come as the state is still grappling with the death of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Columbian national who was shot and killed by ICE on July 13 in Biddeford, Maine. Durán Guerrero was not the intended target of the operation, but his killing sparked heated protests against federal immigration enforcement in the state.
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Charles called Homan a “friend” and added that the pair “used to be on Fox [News] all the time together” at a gathering with Maine Young Republicans on Aug. 20. It appears to be the first time a midterm candidate said they plan to ask the federal government to deploy immigration agents to polling locations.
The comment is in line with President Donald Trump’s push to crack down on noncitizen voting — though there is little evidence to support the idea that noncitizens are voting in large numbers or that massive enforcement efforts would have stopped the few who have been caught.
Deploying ICE agents to polling locations may also be illegal under federal statutes that prohibit federal officials from interfering with elections and intimidating voters. Federal law enforcement officials or “armed men” are also prohibited where an “election is held.”
ICE referred NOTUS to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin’s comments during his confirmation hearing, where he said “the only reason why my officers would be there is if there was a specific threat for them to be there, not for intimidation.”
The U.S. Marshals Service did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Charles’ campaign did not dispute the remark when reached by Bangor Daily News, but added that the “point is that Bobby will do everything legally possible to prevent illegal voting in Maine.”
Democrats quickly voiced their opposition to Charles’ plan, with Devon Murphy-Anderson, Maine’s Democratic Party executive director, calling the push for ICE at Maine’s polling locations “not only deeply alarming — it is likely illegal.”
Maine’s Secretary of State Shenna Bellows, a Democrat who is tasked with overseeing the elections process, affirmed that federal law enforcement officials are “prohibited from being at the polls on Election Day.”
“Bobby Charles can call whoever he wants, but he can’t change the Constitution or the law,” Bellows told the Bangor Daily News.
Some in Trump’s inner circle have floated sending ICE agents to the polls, but the administration has said they will not pursue the enforcement efforts.
Trump’s former chief strategist Steve Bannon said earlier this year that deploying ICE agents to U.S. airports would be a “perfect training for the fall of 2026,” but the Department of Homeland Security told election officials “there will be no ICE presence at polling locations for this election” in a virtual meeting in February.
Charles is set to face Pingree in November. The Republican faces an uphill climb in the race, which is rated “solid D” by Cook Political Report. Vice President JD Vance backed Charles earlier this week at a rally in Maine, but Trump has yet to formally back the Republican candidate.
“My opponent is on the internet pretending he is no longer a proxy for Donald Trump, and meanwhile he is begging Trump’s ICE to come interfere with our free and fair elections,” Pingree told NOTUS. “I think that conduct speaks for itself and I trust the Maine people to see it for what it is.”
Democrats are heading into the election with the advantage, and Charles has made efforts to distance himself from the president. At a campaign event last week, the Republican told voters he does not know Trump.
“But, I will work with him,” Charles said. “I will also stand up against him if he opposes something Maine needs.”
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