Under a new policy announced Wednesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in five cities will begin wearing body-worn cameras when interacting with the public.
Acting ICE Director Patrick J. Lechleitner said the agency has 1,600 body-worn cameras that will be provided to officers and employees in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Buffalo and Detroit.
“This is also an important step in further building public trust and confidence in our nation’s dedicated and professional law enforcement officers,” Rechleitner said.
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The move is part of President Biden’s 2022 initiative to require federal law enforcement officers in public to wear cameras to increase transparency and trust in law enforcement.
Acting Deputy Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Patrick Lechleitner listens during a press conference at the Department of Justice on September 13, 2022 in Washington. ICE officers in five cities will begin wearing body cameras under a new policy being rolled out. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana, File)
ICE has two law enforcement branches: Homeland Security Investigations Special Agents, who investigate cross-border crimes, and Force and Removal Operations officers, who arrest and remove people determined to have no right to be in the United States. It is configured.
Reckleitner said ICE is conducting a six-month pilot program with HSI officers in New York, Newark, El Paso and Houston, and another with ERO deportation officers in Atlanta, Indianapolis and Salt Lake City. carried out.
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The goal is to eventually expand body cameras nationwide, but expanding beyond the initial five cities will require more funding from Congress, Rechleitner said.
“We can’t do much more than those cities at this point,” he says.
In January, the agency issued a policy detailing when body-worn cameras may be used, including executing pre-planned arrest warrants, enforcing eviction orders, and responding to violent disturbances at ICE facilities. Indicated. The agency specifically said it would not use cameras to record people engaged in activities protected by the First Amendment.
