Every ICE arrest team will now have an agent with a body camera, DHS says

Key Points:

• The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that every U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest team will now have at least one officer equipped with a body-worn camera, following two fatal shootings involving agents without cameras.
• The decision comes after recent fatal shootings in Houston and Biddeford, Maine, where the agents involved were not wearing body cameras, highlighting gaps in the agency's rollout of the technology.
• DHS attributed delays in full body camera deployment to funding lapses caused by the partial government shutdown earlier this year, despite Congress approving $20 million for the program in April.
• Democratic lawmakers have criticized the slow deployment pace, with Rep. Sylvia Garcia demanding faster implementation and receiving assurances that all field agents will have body cameras by the end of July.
• The shootings have intensified scrutiny of ICE practices, with DHS confirming the men shot were in the U.S. illegally but not the intended targets, and disputes remain over circumstances such as claims of weaponizing vehicles during the incidents.