ICE personnel in 5 major cities will now wear body cameras

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel in five cities will now wear body cameras to record their actions. 

The initial deployment of 1,600 body-worn cameras is spread between two of the agency’s arms, Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, according to ICE Director Patrick J. Lechleitner’s statement on Wednesday. 

ICE is requiring its agents who interact with migrants to wear cameras on their uniforms. The cameras will be worn by officers working in Baltimore; Philadelphia; Washington, D.C.; Buffalo, N.Y.; and Detroit.

“Public trust is dependent on transparency, and our ability to effectively conduct our mission is dependent on public trust,” Lechleitner said. 

“The deployment of body-worn cameras to our officers and agents assists in building that public trust through transparency and accountability. It is an essential element in our public safety and national security mission.”

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas last May issued guidance that would require its law enforcement officers and agents to wear body cameras when interacting with the public in specified situations, such as when responding to emergency calls, during planned arrests and when executing search warrants.

ICE’s first body-worn camera program started in December 2021. It was designated for investigative units specialized in transnational crime.