Democrats pushed for body cameras on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. Now they want to restrict how the footage is used.
Congressional Democrats made body cameras a top demand after federal agents fatally shot two American citizens in Minneapolis, according to Politico. But privacy groups raised alarms that the recordings could become surveillance tools, pushing the party to call for limits on how ICE handles the footage.
The shift came after 29 tech and social justice organizations sent a letter to Congress Jan. 28 calling for lawmakers to reject all future ICE funding entirely. (RELATED: DHS Deploying Body Cameras To Minneapolis Federal Immigration Agents, Kristi Noem Says)
House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer sent a letter to Republican leadership Wednesday night requesting new guardrails, Politico reported. The letter asked lawmakers to “prohibit tracking, creating or maintaining databases of individuals participating in First Amendment activities.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt pushed back Thursday.
“I know Senator Schumer and Leader Jeffries sent over a very long list of demands, some of which the administration is willing to discuss. Others don’t seem like they are grounded in any common sense, and they are non-starters for this administration,” Leavitt said at a press conference, as reported by Politico.
Democrats fear body cameras could be ICE’s new mass surveillance tool https://t.co/8Vn109KED7
— POLITICO (@politico) February 7, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) criticized the proposal in a statement to Politico. The agency said “sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from using tools and technology to track down criminals” would make cities less safe. DHS also stated its body cameras do not have facial recognition capabilities.
The 29 groups that pressured Democrats, including Fight for the Future, argued body cameras would only expand ICE’s surveillance capacity. Their letter claimed “virtually no evidence” exists that body cameras reduce violence. The groups pointed to the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti, which was recorded on multiple ICE agent body cameras.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Inspector General launched an audit Feb. 4 into how the agency collects and uses biometric data, the Federal News Network reported. The probe followed a letter from Virginia Democratic Sen. Mark Warner and Virginia Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine that raised concerns about surveillance practices.
Court filings in a lawsuit against ICE claim an agent told a legal observer that facial recognition was used and a body camera was recording, according to Politico.