ICE Ordered to Wear Body Cameras on Most Traffic Stops After Fatal Shootings, Border Czar Says

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is now required to wear body cameras for most traffic stops, according to the Trump administration's border czar. The policy change comes after a series of fatal shootings and use-of-force incidents that accelerated calls for accountability.

The border czar said the remaining half of ICE field offices will receive body cameras within 60 days. The push for body cameras has been a years-long effort, with ICE first testing them in 2021, but government shutdowns caused delays in deployment, according to the administration. However, Rep. Sylvia Garcia disputed that claim, calling the blame on the shutdown "ludicrous."

Moving as quickly as possible. As soon as they had funding they bought them.

Pressure for body cameras increased after ICE agents fatally shot two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis earlier this year. Two more people were killed in Texas and Maine this month, where officers were not wearing cameras. In response, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem ordered immediate body camera use in Minneapolis in February.

By 2024, ICE had deployed 1,600 cameras to agents. Then-ICE director Todd Lyons told Congress that about 3,000 of 13,000 agents had body cameras then, with 6,000 more on the way. An agency spokesperson said: "ICE will ensure each arrest team has an individual wearing a body camera."