ICE rejects suggestion for officers’ body cameras to automatically turn on

• Immigration and Customs Enforcement rejected a Government Accountability Office recommendation to automatically activate agents' body cameras when weapons are drawn.
• The Department of Homeland Security stated that automatic camera activation could pose risks by inadvertently recording sensitive interactions with informants or victims.
• A watchdog report found that federal immigration personnel were often unsure when to activate body cameras, describing policies as up to interpretation.
• Unlike Customs and Border Protection, which uses technology to auto-activate cameras when weapons are drawn or emergency lights are turned on, ICE lacks automated controls.
• The call for stricter body camera oversight follows heightened public scrutiny and at least 23 shootings involving federal immigration agents since last year.

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