DHS mandates body cameras on all ICE arrest teams

The Department of Homeland Security has mandated that at least one officer on every Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrest team must wear a body camera, a policy announced this week following two fatal shootings by agents who were not equipped with the devices. The decision comes amid increased scrutiny of ICE operations and a reported rise in assaults against its personnel.

The mandate follows the fatal shootings of two men in separate incidents last week. On July 9, ICE agents in Houston, Texas, shot and killed 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national. Six days later, on July 15, an agent in Biddeford, Maine, shot and killed 26-year-old Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a Colombian national. DHS stated that the officers involved in both shootings were not wearing body cameras. The agency said both men were not the intended targets of the operations and accused each of weaponizing their vehicles, prompting agents to fire in self-defense. Family members and witnesses have disputed the official accounts.

In response to the shootings, lawmakers from both parties renewed calls for the immediate deployment of body cameras. Senator Susan Collins of Maine stated that such a...