The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declared on Tuesday, July 15, 2026, that every Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrest team will have at least one law enforcement officer equipped with a body-worn camera going forward. This decision follows two recent fatal shootings by ICE agents who were not wearing body cameras.

The move comes after a Mexican man was fatally shot by an ICE agent in Houston last week, and six days later, an agent shot and killed a Colombian man in Biddeford, Maine. In both incidents, the involved agents did not have body cameras.

DHS emphasized that "ensuring all of our ICE law enforcement officers have body cameras nationwide is a top priority," citing an increase in assaults against immigration agents. The department also stated, "This is especially needed because the media and sanctuary politicians consistently spread smears about our law enforcement."

Shortly after the Houston shooting, DHS reported that body cameras had been deployed to more than half of ICE's field offices, with the remaining offices expected to receive them within 60 days. The agency attributed the incomplete rollout to a monthslong lapse in DHS funding during the partial government shutdown earlier this year. A DHS spokesperson specifically said the officers in Houston "had not been issued body-worn cameras due to back-to-back Democrat shutdowns."

In February, following fatal shootings by immigration agents in Minneapolis, then-Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem pledged to "rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country" as funding became available.

Additionally, Garcia reported that Acting ICE Director David Venturella assured her in a recent phone call that all agents in the field will have access to body cameras by the end of July 2026.

Sources