Homan Blames Democrats for $20 Million ICE Camera Delay After 2 Fatal Shootings

Q: After recent fatal shootings, will officials meet the urgent new deadline for deploying body cameras?

It is doubtful officials will meet the new end-of-July target for broad body-camera deployment, though they may expand coverage significantly in the coming weeks. The administration says cameras have now been ordered, a deployment schedule is in place, and more than half of ICE field offices have received equipment. DHS says the rest should receive cameras within 60 days, and Acting ICE Director David Venturella has told lawmakers that all field agents will have access by the end of July. But the available facts point to a gap between that promise and current readiness. As of mid-July, officials have acknowledged that only a minority of officers nationwide have actually been issued cameras, and the agency is still relying on field offices to complete training and rollout. A 60-day timeline for the remaining offices also extends beyond the end-of-July pledge. That skepticism is reinforced by the recent shootings in Houston and Biddeford, where no body-camera footage exists, and by criticism from former ICE leadership and members of Congress who say the agency has had enough funding and time to move faster. Congress appropriated $20 million specifically for body cameras in April, on top of much larger ICE funding. So the most supportable answer is that officials have made an urgent commitment, but there is not yet clear evidence they are on pace to fully meet it by the new deadline. A partial rollout by then appears more plausible than complete deployment to all agents.

3 articles · Updated · HuffPost · Jul 15

Tom Homan said Democrats and a partial government shutdown delayed body cameras for ICE agents, after fatal shootings in Texas and Maine drew new scrutiny.
Homan said cameras were ordered only after funding cleared, citing $120 million once held up in budget talks, while field offices still must train officers before deployment.
Kaitlan Collins noted Congress appropriated $20 million for DHS body cameras more than two months ago, and it remains unclear why deployment lagged despite that funding and ICE's broader $75 billion supplemental package.
Homeland Security and Senator Susan Collins have made the same shutdown argument, even as at least nine people have been killed by immigration enforcement officers since Trump's deportation campaign began, including two in the past week.