ICE pushes back on report suggesting body cameras that automatically record

The immigration agency has rejected a report from a government watchdog, making suggestions for improved body camera policy.

A US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent stands guard outside the Delaney Hall detention centre in Newark, New Jersey, on May 28, 2026 [Shannon Stapleton/Reuters]

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a United States agency that has taken a central role in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, has rejected a government report calling for its agents to wear body cameras that automatically activate.

On Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that provides research to Congress, released a report recommending an update to ICE guidelines for camera usage.

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It suggested that “automated camera activation” would be helpful in situations where “unexpected and unplanned incidents, unrelated to sensitive operations, result in use of force by or against personnel”.

“Given the important role of body-worn cameras in law enforcement activities, we maintain that additional controls are needed to help ensure that ICE personnel capture footage in accordance with policy,” the report said.

Automatic activation, it added, would address difficulties ICE agents face in manually turning on their cameras during enforcement operations.

But ICE has rejected the recommendation for automatic activation, which could be triggered by an agent pulling a gun or turning on a car siren. The agency cited privacy concerns.

But the Trump administration faces public pressure to improve transparency during its immigration raids.

Agents from ICE and other agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have faced accusations of excessive force and civil liberties violations.

In January, two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – were shot to death in separate shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during immigration operations.

The New York Times estimated in July that immigration agents had opened fire on at least 25 people since the start of Trump’s second term. A CBS News review updated this week counts at least 30 shootings, with nine people killed and 13 others wounded.

ICE has often blamed such incidents on aggression against its agents, and it has argued that its officers have opened fire to defend themselves from danger.

But in several cases, that rationale has come under scrutiny.

Critics argued that video footage in Good’s fatal shooting disproved government statements alleging that she had weaponised her vehicle against agents. Her car, according to observers, appeared to be turning away from agents, not towards them.

In another case, ICE agent Christian Castro was accused of making false statements about a shooting that resulted in injury to Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man living in Minneapolis.

Castro faces federal charges for allegedly lying about being attacked with a snow shovel and broom before the shooting, after video footage contradicted his account. Castro pleaded not guilty last month.

More recently, on October 8, immigration agents shot a man named Oscar Belgal in New York City while his five-year-old son was in the backseat of his car. ICE stated that Belgal appeared to be “going towards officers” in his car when they opened fire.

On Tuesday, a judge rejected the government’s effort to have Belgal deported.

Activists say better recording procedures for body camera footage could help clarify what happened in such incidents.

But the Trump administration has largely refused to implement reforms to ICE protocol.

Earlier this year, Democrats in Congress delayed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, on the basis that significant changes needed to be made to reduce incidents of excessive force.

The department said on Wednesday that automatically recording cameras could result in “the unauthorised recording of sensitive interactions with informants or victims”.

The agency added that all ICE offices had received body cameras as of August 5, but that training in their use was still ongoing and would be finished “soon”.

移民局驳回了政府监督机构的一份报告，该报告提出了改进执法记录仪政策的建议。

2026年5月28日，一名美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）特工在新泽西州纽瓦克市的德莱尼霍尔拘留中心外站岗。[香农·斯台普顿/路透社]

美国移民和海关执法局 (ICE) 是唐纳德·特朗普总统大规模驱逐出境运动中扮演核心角色的美国机构，该机构拒绝了一份政府报告，该报告呼吁其特工佩戴可自动启动的执法记录仪。

周三，为国会提供研究报告的无党派机构——政府问责局发布了一份报告，建议更新美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 关于摄像头使用的指导方针。

（共3条） ICE枪击纽约男子，车内载有五岁儿童，引发抗议活动

国土安全部为纽约市移民及海关执法局（ICE）枪击事件辩护，称执法人员当时认为自己身处险境（共3条记录，此为第2条）。

列表 3/3：伊尔汗·奥马尔称，在美国特工突袭其住所后，她“不会保持沉默”

它建议，在“与敏感行动无关的意外和计划外事件导致人员使用武力或遭受武力攻击”的情况下，“自动摄像头激活”将有所帮助。

报告称：“鉴于执法人员佩戴的执法记录仪在执法活动中发挥的重要作用，我们认为需要采取额外的控制措施，以确保美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）人员按照相关政策拍摄视频。”

声明还补充说，自动激活功能将解决ICE特工在执法行动中手动打开摄像头时遇到的困难。

但美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）拒绝了自动激活的建议，该功能可通过执法人员拔枪或鸣响警笛触发。该机构表示，此举出于隐私考虑。

但特朗普政府面临着提高移民突袭行动透明度的公众压力。

美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 和其他机构（如海关与边境保护局 (CBP)）的特工曾面临过度使用武力和侵犯公民自由的指控。

今年一月，两名美国公民——蕾妮·古德和亚历克斯·普雷蒂——在明尼苏达州明尼阿波利斯市的移民行动中分别被枪杀。

《纽约时报》7月份估计，自特朗普第二任期开始以来，移民执法人员至少向25人开枪。哥伦比亚广播公司新闻网本周更新的统计显示，至少发生了30起枪击事件，造成9人死亡，13人受伤。

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）经常将此类事件归咎于针对其执法人员的攻击，并辩称其执法人员开枪是为了自卫。

但在一些案例中，这种理由受到了质疑。

批评人士指出，古德被枪杀的视频录像驳斥了政府关于她将车辆改装成武器攻击执法人员的说法。据观察人士称，她的车当时似乎是在背对执法人员行驶，而不是朝着他们驶去。

在另一起案件中，美国移民及海关执法局特工克里斯蒂安·卡斯特罗被指控就一起枪击事件发表虚假声明，该枪击事件导致居住在明尼阿波利斯的委内瑞拉男子胡里奥·塞萨尔·索萨-塞利斯受伤。

卡斯特罗面临联邦指控，罪名是他涉嫌谎称在枪击事件发生前遭到雪铲和扫帚袭击，但视频录像与他的说法相矛盾。卡斯特罗上个月拒不不认罪。

最近，10月8日，移民执法人员在纽约市枪击了一名名叫奥斯卡·贝尔加尔的男子，当时他五岁的儿子正坐在车后座上。美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）称，贝尔加尔在车内似乎“正朝执法人员走去”，随后执法人员开枪。

周二，一名法官驳回了政府将贝尔加尔驱逐出境的请求。

活动人士表示，改进执法记录仪录像的录制程序有助于澄清此类事件的真相。

但特朗普政府基本上拒绝实施对美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）规程的改革。

今年早些时候，国会民主党人以需要进行重大改革以减少过度使用武力事件为由，推迟了对负责监管美国移民和海关执法局（ICE）的国土安全部的拨款。

该部门周三表示，自动录像摄像头可能会导致“未经授权录制与线人或受害者的敏感互动”。

该机构补充说，截至 8 月 5 日，所有 ICE 办公室都已收到执法记录仪，但使用培训仍在进行中，并将“很快”完成。