Sec. Adrian Fontes remains skeptical after DHS official says ICE will not be at polling places

PHOENIX — Despite a U.S. Department of Homeland Security official saying during a midterm elections briefing Wednesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will not be at polling places, Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes is still skeptical.

According to a press release from Fontes, Heather Honey — a deputy assistant secretary for elections integrity at DHS — told those on the call, “Any suggestion that ICE will be present at any polling location is simply not true.”

However, Fontes told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Wednesday he’s giving Honey’s comment the amount of weight it deserves, which he said “ain’t much.”

“In the statement, I said I was encouraged by it or something like that, and I am,” Fontes said. “But then you go half a layer into the onion here and this message is being delivered by a person who misrepresents the truth as a habit. And so I don’t know how much we can actually depend on what she said.”

In the release, Fontes called Honey an “election denier” and said she was spreading misinformation about election administration as well as security issues on the call.

According to the Associated Press, Honey was involved in the Arizona Senate’s 2021 audit of Maricopa County’s election results, which experts described as having flawed methodology, being biased and riddled with errors.

In addition, she has led a variety of election research groups that have produced flawed analyses of election data.

“(She) has been involved with the CyberNinja audit and a whole bunch of stuff that was not true,” Fontes said. “And earlier in the call, she made some significant misstatements.”

Sec. Adrian Fontes wants to hear from ICE and DHS leaders

Fontes emphasized that he wants to see that ICE won’t be at polling places in writing from Todd Lyons, the acting head of ICE, or Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

“I need the Department of Homeland Security to put up or shut up,” Fontes said.

The secretary of state added that he has sent DHS multiple letters regarding election security and certain discontinued services and hasn’t heard back.

According to Fontes, the call that Honey made the statement on included the Election Assistance Commission, FBI, DHS, U.S. Department of Justice and U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

He noted that the call regarding the upcoming midterm election wasn’t unexpected.

“We see this pretty regularly during election times and runups toward elections,” Fontes said.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. 

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