In brief
In a significant move towards enhancing accountability in law enforcement, Secretary Kristi Noem announced that every officer within the Department of Homeland Security, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, will be issued body-worn cameras. This nationwide program aims to strengthen oversight following heightened scrutiny over immigration enforcement practices, particularly in Minneapolis. This initiative follows a 2022 executive order from President Biden advocating for body cameras among federal officers, a directive that was previously rescinded by former President Trump.
WASHINGTON (AP) — Every Homeland Security officer on the ground, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers, will be immediately issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday. Noem made the announcement on the social media platform X, stating that the body-worn camera program is being expanded nationwide as funding becomes available. “We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Noem said in the social media post. The news of the body cameras comes as Minneapolis has been the site of intense scrutiny over the conduct of immigration enforcement agents. There have been increased calls by critics of Homeland Security to require all of the department’s officers who are responsible for immigration enforcement to wear body cameras. President Joe Biden ordered in 2022 that federal law enforcement officers wear body cameras as part of an executive order that included other policing reform measures. President Donald Trump had rescinded that directive after starting his second term.
