The lack of body cameras on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents has raised questions about the pace and status of the national effort to deploy the devices. In January, the then-secretary of the Department of Homeland Security pledged to “rapidly” deploy body cameras to officers nationwide after federal immigration agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens.

Delayed Deployment

Despite the pledge, the distribution of body-worn cameras is still ongoing, and the agents involved in recent fatal shootings in Houston and Maine did not have them. The lack of body cameras has deepened skepticism of the government’s narrative in these fatal shootings.

Law enforcement experts say body cameras help ensure safe and accountable policing. However, federal agencies have been slow to adopt the technology. The use of body cameras has largely garnered bipartisan agreement, particularly amid aggressive confrontations between federal agents and members of the public over the past year.

ICE Policy

ICE implemented a policy in January 2024 requiring most officers to wear body cameras during “all aspects of ICE enforcement activities,” except for certain investigative activities. However, President Donald Trump rescinded that directive in an executive order at the start of his second term in January 2025.

The Department of Homeland Security plans to purchase more than 5,000 body-worn cameras with the $20 million provided by Congress. Each ICE arrest team plans to have an agent wearing a body camera as the federal agency works toward distributing the equipment to all agents.

Original reporting: WLKY Louisville — read the source article.