Immigration and Customs Enforcement says all of its field officers will soon wear body cameras, but a policy governing the devices gives the agency broad discretion over whether the public gets to see what they record.
ICE plans to equip officers nationwide with body-worn cameras by the end of September, following mounting scrutiny over fatal encounters involving federal immigration officers. But footage from shootings or incidents resulting in death or serious injury will be released promptly only when ICE determines doing so is in the agency’s “best interests,” according to the policy.
After a serious incident, a committee composed of senior ICE officials and attorneys will review the footage and recommend whether it should be released. Video could be made public within 72 hours, but the ICE director can delay or block its release if there are “specific and compelling circumstances.” The policy does not define what those circumstances are.
The rollout follows several fatal encounters involving immigration officers, including the deaths of two men shot by ICE agents in Texas and Maine last month. Neither shooting was captured on an officer’s body camera. Civilian video has also played a significant role in challenging official accounts of other controversial immigration enforcement encounters.
Experts say ICE’s control over which recordings become public could undermine the accountability the cameras are intended to provide.
“In some ways, ICE is saying the quiet part out loud,” Christopher Schneider, a sociology professor who studies police body cameras, told The Associated Press, describing selective release policies as a way for law enforcement agencies to shape their public image.
The Brennan Center for Justice has similarly warned that the effectiveness of body cameras depends heavily on the policies governing their use, including when cameras must be activated, whether footage is publicly accessible and what happens when officers fail to follow the rules. Research into body cameras has produced mixed results on whether they reduce use of force, though some studies have found reductions in complaints against officers.
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ICE spent $30.9 million on body-camera equipment in July, according to federal records cited by AP. Congress had previously allocated another $20 million for the cameras.
Tom Homan, President Donald Trump’s border czar, has defended the expansion, saying body cameras frequently exonerate law enforcement officers and would allow Americans to “see what the officers saw.”
Whether Americans will actually get to see that footage, however, may ultimately remain ICE’s decision.
