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No, ICE is not mass deporting people from polling stations

It’s true: Political watchdog groups and law enforcement officials across the country have been receiving various complaints of misconduct at polling sites. But there are also a lot of complaints that are circulating on social media that are probably false.

Here’s one: “According to a friend, ICE agents just deported 5 people at a Nevada polling station,” tweeted one person with the hashtag #voterintimidation.

“Uhh, this is pretty serious. ICE mass arresting illegals at #pollingplace  #Election2016 please be careful, no vote is worth your life,” tweeted another person, along with a photoshopped image of ICE agents leading a man past a voting sign. That Twitter account has since been suspended.

In fact, there is no indication that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents have visited a single polling station today.

“ICE focuses its enforcement resources on individuals who pose a threat to national security, public safety and border security,” an ICE official said. “Those voting are typically U.S. citizens.”

That hasn’t stopped some people from wishing for ICE agents.

And in at least one case, there may have been an episode of ICE impersonation.

Police in Montgomery County, Md., said they responded to a call at polling site after someone reported a man wearing an “ICE” vest asking voters about illegal immigrants casting ballots. Police said the man was nowhere to be found when they arrived.

The ICE official also said the agency has not conducted “any enforcement actions at any polling places in Maryland.” It’s possible that ICE officials have showed up to cast ballots, the official said — but not to track down illegal migrants.

It’s also not possible for someone to be deported “from a polling site” as some Twitter users have claimed because that’s simply not how the U.S. immigration system works.

“That’s not how it works. There has to be a final order of removal from an immigration judge,” the official said. “There’s a lot of moving pieces.”

You may have seen other non-ICE rumors going around as well.

One man tweeted that police in Chesapeake, Va., were escorting black friends of his into polling stations because of harassment from Trump supporters “blocking doors and calling them racial slurs.” According to the local police department, that simply didn’t happen.

“This is all false — I don’t know how this started. We have not had any issues,” said Kelly Elliott, a spokesperson for the Chesapeake Police Department.

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