DHS mandates body cameras for all ICE arrest teams after two fatal shootings

The Department of Homeland Security said on Tuesday that each Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest team will be equipped with at least one body-worn camera. The policy change follows two recent incidents in which ICE agents shot and killed individuals while not wearing cameras – a Mexican man in Houston, Texas, and a Colombian man in Biddeford, Maine.

DHS officials noted that body cameras are already in use at more than half of ICE’s field offices and that the remaining offices will receive them within 60 days. The agency attributed the delayed rollout to funding gaps that occurred during a partial government shutdown earlier this year.

Congress approved an additional $20 million for DHS body-camera programs as part of legislation to end the shutdown. In February, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem pledged to accelerate the acquisition and deployment of cameras as funding became available.

Democratic Representative Sylvia Garcia, who serves the Houston area, said Acting ICE Director David Venturella assured her that all field agents would have access to body cameras by the end of July, and she pledged to hold the agency accountable.

DHS stated that the individuals shot were in the United States without legal status and were not the intended targets of the immigration operations. Both incidents occurred during attempted vehicle stops; DHS described the Houston victim as having used his vehicle as a weapon, a claim disputed by his family.