Border czar Tom Homan said the agency has purchased cameras and is preparing a nationwide rollout as traffic-stop tactics face renewed scrutiny following deadly encounters in Maine and Texas.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be required to record vehicle stops using at least one body-worn camera, border czar Tom Homan announced Sunday following multiple fatal shootings involving federal immigration agents.
Homan said the policy is intended to document what officers encounter during enforcement operations and provide the public with a clearer account of decisions involving the use of force.
“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 officers saw when they took that action,” Homan said on “Fox & Friends Weekend.”
The announcement follows two fatal traffic-stop shootings involving ICE officers within six days. Federal agents did not have body-camera footage from either incident.
An ICE officer fatally shot a Colombian driver July 13 in Biddeford, Maine, a coastal community about 15 miles south of Portland. Six days earlier, an ICE officer in Houston shot and killed a Mexican national during another traffic stop.
The encounters prompted public demonstrations in Maine, Houston and Boston while intensifying questions about why ICE officers involved in vehicle stops were not routinely equipped with body cameras.
Homan said during a separate appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation” that implementation had been delayed because funding was held up during a partial federal government shutdown earlier this year.
“The cameras have been purchased right now,” Homan said. “They’re training the trainer in deploying the cameras nationwide.”
The training process is expected to prepare instructors who can teach officers throughout the country how to operate the cameras and comply with recording procedures.
Homan announced last week that ICE would temporarily suspend most vehicle stops nationwide while officials reviewed enforcement practices and safety protocols.
President Donald Trump directed immigration agents to resume the stops within 24 hours of Homan’s announcement.
The rapid reversal returned ICE officers to vehicle-based enforcement operations while the administration continued developing the body-camera requirement.
ICE began testing body-worn cameras in 2024 through a pilot program covering officers in Baltimore, Buffalo, Detroit, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.
The program was intended to evaluate how cameras could be incorporated into immigration enforcement, including arrests, vehicle stops and other encounters with the public.
The Trump administration moved last year to reduce the pace of the rollout and asked Congress to cut the program’s funding by 75%, according to Reuters reporting in January.
The issue received additional attention in February after two U.S. citizens were killed during an immigration enforcement operation in Minnesota.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said at the time that body cameras would be distributed to ICE personnel nationwide “as funding is available.”
Homan’s latest announcement indicates that the equipment has now been acquired and that the agency has entered the training and deployment phase.
At least seven people have been fatally shot during federal immigration enforcement operations since January 2025, when Trump returned to office and began implementing the mass-deportation program he promoted during his presidential campaign.
The recent shootings have placed renewed focus on ICE’s use-of-force policies, traffic-stop procedures and documentation practices.
Body cameras can provide evidence of interactions between officers and members of the public, including the conduct leading up to a use of force. The recordings may also be reviewed during internal investigations, criminal inquiries and legal proceedings.
Homan argued that video evidence frequently supports officers’ accounts rather than proving misconduct, saying the cameras could show the circumstances agents faced when making split-second decisions.
The administration has not announced a specific date by which every ICE officer conducting vehicle stops must be equipped with a camera.
Homan’s statements indicate that officers are expected to receive the equipment as trained personnel complete the nationwide rollout.
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