What we know
What we know: ICE will release body camera video only when seen in the agency’s ‘best interests,’ policy says
Compiled Aug 7
What we know
- ICE says all field officers nationwide will have body-worn cameras by the end of September
- ICE's policy allows the agency to withhold or delay release of footage if it is not deemed in the agency's 'best interests'
- Recordings that are released must have officers' faces, names and badge numbers redacted for privacy
- ICE spent $30.9 million in July to buy body camera equipment from Axon
- Neither the fatal shooting in Houston nor the one in Maine was recorded because officers did not yet have cameras
- Congress gave ICE $20 million for body cameras in a bill passed to end a partial government shutdown on April 30
What we don’t know yet
- ICE did not respond to AP's question about how it decides what 'specific and compelling circumstances' justify withholding video
- CBP has not released body camera footage of the January shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, saying it is under investigation
- CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott said the Minneapolis video would be released 'when it's appropriate,' without a specific timeline
Open questions
- What specific circumstances would ICE's director use to justify withholding footage indefinitely?
- Will ICE release footage of the recent fatal shootings in Houston and Maine once cameras are deployed?
- When will CBP release the body camera footage of the Minneapolis shooting of Alex Pretti?
- How will the public verify whether ICE's selective releases are fair rather than image management?
Drawn from the Associated Press report. “What we don’t know” lists only what the reporting itself flags as unresolved.