The head of the Department of Homeland Security said all federal agents working immigration enforcement in Minnesota will be given body-worn cameras “effective immediately.”
The announcement from DHS Secretary Kristi Noem on Feb. 2 comes as funding for the agency has been a sticking point in Congress, which is in the midst of an overall budget battle during a partial government shutdown.
Democrats were incensed after Alex Pretti’s killing by federal agents on Jan. 24 in Minneapolis and demanded that one of the six remaining funding bills, for DHS and its associated agencies, be stripped from the package passed by the House.
They said the bill must include changes to immigration enforcement, including a code of conduct for federal agents and a requirement that officers show identification and wear body cameras.
In a posting on X, Noem announced that “effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis.”
The secretary added that “as funding is available, the body camera program will be expanded nationwide. We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country.”
She went on to declare the Trump presidency as “the most transparent administration in American history.”
Further details about the body-cam rollout have yet to be addressed by Noem. They include: when will the cameras be activated, who will have access to what the cameras record and how long will the footage be retained.
