By Julia Ainsley—
NBC News
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will begin wearing body cameras to record their interactions with immigrants in five cities in the United States, the acting director of the federal agency, PJ Lechleitner, announced this Wednesday in a statement.
Following a six-month pilot program that was deemed successful, ICE will begin requiring agents working with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), as well as those charged with detaining and deporting immigrants, to wear cameras on their uniforms in Baltimore
. , Philadelphia, Washington, DC, Buffalo and Detroit
.
“It's about promoting transparency and maintaining community trust,” Lechleitner said.
A suspect is detained by an ICE agent for transport to Baltimore.
AB Forces News Collection / Alamy file
The program complies with a 2022 executive order signed by President Joe Biden to mandate the use of body cameras for all federal law enforcement agencies.
But without more money from Congress, Lechleitner explained, ICE won't be able to expand the use of body cameras beyond those five cities.
Lechleitner indicated that ICE faces a budget shortfall unless Congress appropriates more money.
The appropriations law that currently funds the agency expires on March 22.
Without more funding, ICE faces a $500 million budget shortfall and will have to start cutting “key operations,” such as immigration detention and deportation, before May, sources told NBC News.
ICE depends on the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Four law enforcement agencies overseen by the Department of Justice – the FBI, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), the DEA and the US Marshals – have stated that they are implementing the use of body cameras by law enforcement in certain cities, as previously reported by NBC News.
The Justice Department said it is “committed to full enforcement,” but agencies have not yet adopted the widespread use of body cameras.