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Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers will now be required to wear body cameras during traffic stops, following two fatal shootings by ICE in the space of a week.
The shootings have sparked widespread criticism and raised further questions about the heavyhanded tactics of ICE agents, which have been called into question a number of times in recent months. At least six people died amid the Donald Trump administration's immigration crackdown in the US, with the latest being shot dead by ICE agents in Minneapolis.
White House border tsar Tom Homan said officers would be expected to use the cameras "whenever possible" as the Trump administration moves to expand their use across the agency. Speaking on F ox & Friends on Sunday, Homan said: "I'm a big proponent of body cams, always have been. They exonerate more law enforcement than they convict, and I want officers to wear body cameras because I want the American people to see what the officer saw when they took that action."
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In a separate interview with CBS News' Face the Nation, Homan put the blame on previous government shutdowns led by Democrats had delayed the rollout. "Everybody in ICE would have a camera now if the government wasn't shut down by Democratic members of Congress," he said, adding that cameras are now being purchased, distributed and officers are receiving training.
ICE previously said more than half of its field offices already have body cameras, with the remaining offices expected to receive them within the next 60 days.
The announcement follows two fatal shootings involving ICE agents during vehicle stops in Houston, Texas, and Biddeford, Maine. In both cases, the men killed were reportedly not the intended targets of immigration enforcement operations, prompting protests and renewed calls for greater accountability.
In an interview on Fox News, Homan claimed after the two fatal shootings by ICE agents that ICE is "well trained in vehicle stops".
"It's not a policy change, it's a temporary pause," Homan said during the interview. He also noted that ICE would be suspending traffic stops. "This is going to be a short-term review to make sure ICE agents are safe and doing the right thing."
Critics have argued body cameras are essential, saying they could provide an independent record of encounters involving federal officers after accusing the Trump administration of making misleading claims in previous high-profile incidents involving the Department of Homeland Security.
Homan's comments on Sunday come months after a numbrr of fatal shootings involving ICE agents during protests in Minnesota, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem pledged to equip officers nationwide with body-worn cameras. The agency later received an additional USD$20 million (14.8) to help expand the programme.
Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52, was fatally shot in Houston on July 7. He employed more than a dozen workers building homes across the region, an d was driving to work with three others when he was killed by federal immigration agents. He was not the man immigration officers said they were looking for.
In Maine, 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, who reportedly had work authorisation, was shot dead by an ICE agent during a vehicle stop. As per the Independent, a witness later said heard Guerrero tell officers: "I tried to stop."
The ex-wife of the agent involved in the Maine shooting has also claimed she had long been concerned about his temperament, alleging ICE failed to properly vet him. ICE rejected suggestions it had ignored warning signs and accused reporting on the officer of attempting to identify law enforcement personnel.
The shootings briefly led ICE to pause vehicle stops. However, US President Donald Trump ordered the tactic to resume last week, describing the stops as one of the agency's "most important and effective Crime Fighting tools" in a post on social media.
