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Every Homeland Security officer deployed to Minneapolis, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers, will receive body cameras immediately, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday.
Noem made the announcement on social media platform X, saying the body camera program will expand nationwide as funding becomes available.
“We will quickly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Noem wrote.
I just talked to @RealTomHoman @ICEDirector @CBPPomjerenik. Effective immediately, we are putting body cameras on every police officer on the ground in Minneapolis.
As funding becomes available, the body camera program will expand across the country. We will quickly acquire and deploy the body…
Minneapolis has been the site of intense scrutiny of the behavior of immigration enforcement agents following the fatal shootings of two Americans. Critics have called on Homeland Security to require all department officials responsible for immigration enforcement to wear body cameras.
Former US President Joe Biden ordered federal law enforcement officers to wear body cameras in 2022 as part of an executive order that included other police reform measures. President Donald Trump rescinded that directive after the start of his second term.
Liam Ramos, 5, and his father returned to Minneapolis more than a week after they were detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and further fueled protests. Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump now says ICE will only be sent to cities run by Democrats if they ask for it.
The president last week ordered his top border adviser to oversee the crackdown in Minneapolis days after the fatal shooting of 37-year-old Alex Pretti, an intensive care paramedic at a veterans hospital. His death came weeks after 37-year-old Renee Nicole Good was fatally shot in her car.
The killings led to protests across the country.
Border Patrol Tom Homan suggested mistakes were made, but said agents will continue to enforce federal law and urged local and state officials to cooperate with federal officials.
Human rights advocates have widely condemned Trump’s immigration policy as lacking due process and creating a hostile environment for immigrant communities. Trump described his actions as aimed at improving domestic security.
Commenting on Noem’s post on Monday, Trump told reporters that body cameras are “generally good for law enforcement, because people can’t lie about what’s going on.”
“So that’s, broadly speaking, I think 80 percent, good for the police. But if they want to do it, I’m fine with it,” Trump said. He noted that the decision was Noah’s, not his.
