WASHINGTON (AP) — Every homeland security official on the ground in Minneapolis, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will immediately be issued body-worn cameras, Secretary Kristi Noem said Monday, in the latest fallout from the shooting two American citizens at the hands of federal officers sparked widespread outrage.
Noem made the announcement on the social media platform X. She said the body-worn camera program will be expanded nationwide as funding becomes available.
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“We will quickly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” Noem said in the social media post.
The news about the body cameras comes at a time when Minneapolis has been the scene of intense scrutiny over the behavior of immigration enforcement officers after two US citizens protesting immigration enforcement activities in the city were shot dead.
Increasing calls for body cameras
Critics of Homeland Security are increasingly calling to require all department officials 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 police reform measures. President Donald Trump had withdrawn that directive after starting his second term.
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Noem’s move comes after Trump endorsed the idea of body cameras for immigration officials over the weekend.
While flying to Florida, Trump was asked by a reporter if he thought it was a good thing to have many cameras recording incidents with law enforcement.
“I think it would help law enforcement, but I would have to talk to them,” Trump said.
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