US National Security Agencies Prepare Operations to Contain Potential Unrest due to Elections Nationwide | CNN

There are already more than 60 million early votes in the US 2:08

(CNN) -

Two of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) immigration agencies are bracing for the possibility of more civil unrest amid a controversial election, officials say, as part of an effort. concerted by federal and local authorities in the face of possible large-scale protests.

The Trump administration's deployment of federal agents in American cities came under scrutiny this summer, sparking allegations that DHS became politicized when Trump administration officials claimed local politicians were not doing enough to control protests. .

Meanwhile, officials in cities such as Portland, Oregon, and Washington argued that the increased federal presence was fueling the protests, rather than diminishing the situation.

Officials and protesters also criticized federal agents for not having clearly differentiated badges, prompting the Oregon District Attorney to request an investigation.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is putting staff on hold before next week's elections, according to a senior ICE official.

Meanwhile, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has been training staff regularly, an extension of this summer's deployments, an agency official said.

• NYPD asks officers to prepare for election protests

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"We have teams ready to go as needed," said Ken Cuccinelli, the senior official serving as the Deputy Secretary for Homeland Security, but noted that "we don't have any specific intelligence that suggests a particular threat of violence."

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CNN previously reported that more than five dozen meetings have been held since January in an effort to prepare various agencies for all likely scenarios, according to a senior administration official, and nearly 100 meetings in the past year, others said. two law enforcement officers.

Operations for possible election disturbances are "standard practice"

Those meetings have included the White House National Security Council, the Office of Personnel Management, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, various intelligence agencies and the Army, the official said.

This level of contingency planning is standard practice before a national election, the official said.

ICE and CBP have tactical teams that can be deployed to augment other law enforcement agencies if necessary.

In "volatile weather, it is standard practice" to say, "Let's do the hoops: what would it take, name 'this location' and what kind of force, how many people, how much would it cost and how long would it take to get there," one official told him. from CBP to CNN.

According to the senior ICE official, staff will be deployed if needed to help protect federal buildings, freeing up state and local officials if there are riots or crowd control problems.

The preparations are similar to the Portland deployments when agents assisted the Federal Protective Service, an agency that also reports to DHS and is charged in part with protecting federal facilities.

While CBP is charged with protecting the nation's borders, the agency regularly assists law enforcement, such as after Hurricanes Katrina and Laura.

Legacy CBP agencies also assisted local authorities during the Rodney King protests in 1992.

The agency also recently braced for the possibility that it would be called in to provide staff when charges were announced in the Breonna Taylor case, an official said, but in the end no CBP staff was needed.

The agency is "on hold all the time," another CBP official said, citing "the size and frequency of what we are seeing."

"The training has focused on de-escalation tactics, constitutional rights and crowd control," added the official.

Portland Mayor: Trump encourages violence 2:14

Protests expected after the presidential election

Should Trump fully secure reelection, federal and local officials told CNN that large-scale demonstrations are expected in major Democratic-majority cities across the country, especially in New York City and Washington.

If Biden wins outright, those same officials don't expect the same large-scale protests, but they are preparing for them nonetheless.

The agencies are also preparing for the possibility that there will be no clear winner on November 4.

This summer, after back-to-back protests in Portland, federal officials, including officials from CBP and ICE, were dispatched to the city to help protect federal property and personnel.

Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf attributed the move to violence directed against federal property and personnel.

Before the weekend of July 4, Homeland Security agents were also deployed across the country to protect federal monuments.

"Rapid deployment teams" were dispatched to cities, including Seattle and Portland, while regional teams were pre-positioned with the intention of being available anywhere in the US within hours.

As of now, however, Cuccinelli told CNN that there is no intelligence "of anything that appears violent" related to the upcoming elections, but cautioned that this may change quickly.

- CNN's Vivian Salama contributed to this report.

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