ICE agents to wear body cams

If anyone wonders if anything is changing after Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers killed two people in two separate traffic stops in just the last month, there's this: Agents will be required to wear body cameras during most traffic stops from now on.

White House border czar Tom Homan announced that he supports the use of body cameras to show what officers see during actions so his ICE is now deploying body cameras in field offices.

More than half are already equipped, he said.

“They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict, and I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the officers saw when they took that action,” Homan said ⁠on "Fox & Friends Weekend."

The shootings in Texas and Maine this month, and the deaths of civilians and citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti earlier this year in Minneapolis, have sparked protests and calls for accountability. And renewed calls for cameras and more extensive training.

Reuters reported that ICE launched a $20 million body-camera pilot program in 2024 in five cities: Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia, and Washington, D.C., but the Trump administration 'slow-walked' the program so many weren't yet purchased or in use.

As they roll out body cams to more agents, Homan also said last week the agency would temporarily suspend most vehicle stops around the country following the fatal shootings. But within a day, President Donald Trump directed federal immigration agents to resume them in his ongoing effort to facilitate mass deportations.

Even Republicans are on board with cameras. Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, said 'something has to change' with ICE after so many civilian deaths, and Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, admitted that "it's a mistake" for ICE not to have body cams and said it needs to be fixed immediately.

Politico quoted a Trump Administration official as saying, "there is growing concern that we will lose support for common sense interior enforcement because of the missteps in Minneapolis and the never-ending one of encounters going bad.”