DHS Mandates 1 Body Camera per ICE Arrest Team After 2 Fatal Shootings
Updated
Updated · CBS New York · Jul 15
DHS Mandates 1 Body Camera per ICE Arrest Team After 2 Fatal Shootings
3 articles · Updated · CBS New York · Jul 15
Summary
Every ICE arrest team must now include at least one officer with a body-worn camera, DHS said after fatal shootings in Houston and Biddeford involved agents without cameras.
Two men — a Mexican national in Texas and a Colombian national in Maine — were shot during attempted vehicle stops, and DHS said neither was the intended target of the operations.
DHS said cameras had reached more than half of ICE field offices and blamed the incomplete rollout on this year's partial government shutdown, though Congress added $20 million for DHS body cameras in April.
Democratic lawmakers have criticized the pace of deployment; Rep. Sylvia Garcia said Acting ICE Director David Venturella told her all field agents should have camera access by the end of July.
The shootings have also prompted a temporary nationwide pause on most ICE vehicle stops while officers receive more training, sharpening scrutiny of the agency's enforcement tactics.