A social media post by former Washington Governor Jay Inslee has ignited a sharp political backlash, after he urged Senate Democrats to bar Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from operating near polling places—an appeal conservatives say amounts to an inadvertent admission that undocumented immigrants are voting in U.S. elections.
In a late-Tuesday tweet, Inslee pressed Democrats to attach a prohibition to a must-pass appropriations bill, arguing that the Trump administration could use federal immigration enforcement to intimidate voters. “In the midst of ICE horror, the Senate needs to prohibit Trump from using ICE as a voter suppression tool. Senate Dems need to put into the approps bill a prohibition on ICE agents being near polling places. This is a must have. Last chance to do this,” Inslee wrote.
In the midst of ICE horror, the Senate needs to prohibit Trump from using ICE as a voter suppression tool. Senate Dems need to put into the approps bill a prohibition on ICE agents being near polling places. This is a must have. Last chance to do this.
— Jay Inslee (@JayInslee) January 28, 2026
Critics quickly seized on the logic of the request itself, asking why the presence of Immigration and Customs Enforcement would deter lawful voters at all. If only U.S. citizens are voting—as federal law requires—then ICE’s proximity to polling sites should be irrelevant.
Conservative commentator Mollie Hemingway amplified the critique in a widely shared reply: “Democrat leaders are becoming more honest and open about the key role illegal immigration plays in their election victories.”
Democrat leaders are becoming more honest and open about the key role illegal immigration plays in their election victories..
— Mollie (@MZHemingway) January 28, 2026
The exchange taps into long-running partisan disputes over election integrity. Republicans have for years argued that weak safeguards—particularly around identification—invite abuse, while Democrats counter that such claims exaggerate rare events to justify never needing to prove who you are when you vote. Voter ID, for example, is extremely popular, but Democrats, without any real reason, blanketly oppose those measures.
In Virginia, which has seen a moderate Democratic governor immediately become radical upon taking office, liberal lawmakers have begun “pushing legislation that would prohibit federal immigration enforcement near polling places, a move Republicans say is unconstitutional and sets up a direct conflict with federal law governing the arrest and detention of illegal immigrants.
At issue is House Bill 1442, patroned by Del. Alfonso H. Lopez, D-Shirlington, which would bar “any person” from enforcing federal immigration laws within 40 feet of polling places, election board meetings or recount facilities—a restriction critics argue Virginia has no authority to impose on federal agents under the Constitution’s Supremacy Clause,” according to Fox News.
A Kinsley gaffe is “when a politician inadvertently says something truthful which they had not meant to reveal,” did Inslee accidentially make one?
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