Arkansas Senate Democratic nominee Hallie Shoffner has softened her stance on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after earlier saying she would deny the agency "one more dime". The shift has become a flashpoint in her campaign to unseat Republican Senator Tom Cotton in November, with Cotton's team using her earlier remarks in attack adverts and accusing her of aligning with progressive Democrats who back defunding the agency. The row matters because immigration enforcement has become a highly charged issue nationally, and Cotton is seeking to paint Shoffner, a political newcomer, as too left-wing for the conservative state.

In June, Shoffner told an audience in Springdale, Arkansas, that she would vote to defund ICE "as it exists right now", arguing it no longer served its original purpose and had ten times the budget of agencies tackling child sex trafficking. After Cotton's campaign highlighted the comments alongside her repeated donations to Kamala Harris, Shoffner clarified on Facebook this week that she wants to "reform" rather than defund ICE. Cotton, seeking a third Senate term, has not held office as a Democrat since Mark Pryor lost to him in 2014, and Shoffner also lacks backing from senior party figures such as Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.