ICE says it has enough body cameras now, after series of deadly shootings

A federal agent's body camera records as they question a woman before she is released as they patrol the halls of immigration court at the Jacob K. Javits Federal Building in March 2026 in New York City. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images hide caption

Immigration and Customs Enforcement says it now has enough body cameras to equip all its officers and agents.

The update comes after years of immigration officials telling lawmakers and advocates that they did not have enough devices for a body-worn camera program to be implemented agency-wide.

"Training required to equip individual officers remains ongoing and we expect to complete this training soon," an unnamed spokesperson told NPR in a statement.

Cameras could help alleviate some concerns about ICE transparency and accountability after federal immigration officers were involved in over two dozen shootings under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said he predicts that by the end of September every officer in the field will have a body-worn camera.

"We have the permanent cameras, but we also have Motorola [that] is working with us on the mics that we use," Mullin said during a press conference in New York on Tuesday , noting that the microphones could also act as a camera. He said he plans to meet with the CEO of Motorola this week to discuss how to use that technology.

Federal immigration officers came under fire in July after the deadly shooting of two immigrants, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. In both instances, neither the target of the arrest nor the officers involved were wearing body cameras, according to the agency.