Body cameras are expected to continue being deployed to federal officers at the border and in the field.
Top immigration officials in the Trump administration said on Feb. 10 that about 3,000 Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers in the field now have body cameras.
Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons testified on oversight before the U.S. House Homeland Security Committee that another 6,000 cameras were being deployed to the 13,000 officers in the field.
Lyons was one of three Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials who appeared before the committee for an oversight hearing as the Trump administration’s ongoing nationwide crackdown on illegal immigration continues.
The hearing, titled “Oversight of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS): ICE, CBP, and USCIS,” started in the shadow of another looming government shutdown.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced on Feb. 2 that all federal officers in the field in Minneapolis would be issued body-worn cameras “immediately.”
As funding becomes available, the program would be expanded nationwide, Noem also stated.
“We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country,” she said.
U.S. Border Patrol Chief Rodney Scott testified at the hearing on Feb. 10 that his rough estimation was that about 10,000 Border Patrol agents out of 20,000 had cameras.
“We’re building that program out as we speak,” Scott said.
Committee Chairman Andrew Garbarino (R-N.Y.) said the hearing was a chance to give the American people an opportunity to hear directly from immigration officials about what is happening in the field.
“Transparency, communication, and accountability are the keys to good government,” Garbarino said. “For years, we witnessed a blanket refusal to enforce the law, wide-open borders, catch-and-release policies, and uncontrolled mass migration. These policies undermined the rule of law and endangered all Americans. Enforcing immigration law is not optional.
At the hearing, several Democrats criticized Lyons.
In 2025, border crossings plunged by 93 percent, according to DHS. About 630,000 illegal immigrants were removed by the department, and more than 2 million self-deported.
