U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is resisting a recommendation from the government’s comptroller general to have its agents’ and officers’ body cameras automatically activate, saying the danger of an inadvertent start that captures sensitive information outweighs the benefits.
Customs and Border Protection, ICE’s sister immigration enforcement agency, does have automatic activation, according to a new report Wednesday by the Government Accountability Office, run by the comptroller general.
Cameras have taken on a renewed importance this year, with ICE and CBP officers involved in shootings in cities as they carry out President Trump’s mass deportation orders.
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As of June, CBP had deployed 11,500 cameras, chiefly with the Border Patrol. ICE had just 4,800 cameras, split about evenly between its deportation and investigative forces.
But both agencies are operating off years-old plans that haven’t accounted for changes in technology and policy. And they don’t have performance goals to ensure the cameras are being used to achieve the right objectives — in particular, building trust with a public that many say is worried about aggressive enforcement tactics.
The agencies also haven’t tailored their camera policies to specific jobs, the GAO said.
“Most CBP and ICE offices have not developed specific operational guidance that explains how personnel should use, or not use, cameras under their unique operational circumstances. The lack of guidance at this operational level increases the risk that CBP and ICE personnel will fail to use the cameras as required under policy,” the audit said.
ICE’s resistance to automatically activated cameras was particularly striking, given questions about its employees’ activities.
One ICE officer is facing trial in Minneapolis after being accused of lying about incidents that led to him shooting a migrant. That officer, Christian Casto, did not have a body camera, but local surveillance footage challenged his claims that he was first assaulted by illegal immigrants.
Under pressure, ICE has rushed to deploy more cameras.
But the agency said having them automatically activate, such as when a gun or Taser is drawn, is a bad idea.
“Specifically, automatic activation presents significant operational risks, including inadvertent or false activations during routine movement,” Jeffrey Bobich, executive director of financial management at Homeland Security, said in an official response to the GAO.
He said he feared “sensitive interactions” with sources or victims could be captured, as could protesters engaged in protected First Amendment activities “in areas where camera use is restricted.”
“ICE has determined that the privacy, evidentiary and operational risks associated with automatic activation technology outweigh its potential benefits,” Mr. Bobich concluded.
The GAO said ICE is getting it wrong, particularly at a time when the agency is trying to build trust.
Auditors pointed out that CBP has automatic activation without encountering the issues ICE fears.
ICE’s own personnel told the GAO that it can be tough to activate cameras manually at key moments. That could be costing the agency in a “loss of public confidence and transparency,” the GAO said.
The GAO said the vendor that supplies the cameras to ICE has the technology for automatic activation.
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