Immigration and Customs Enforcement will equip officers with body cameras by the end of September, but its new policy gives the agency broad control over public release of footage, specifying that video will be shared only when it is in ICE's "best interests." The policy, issued in February 2025, requires prompt release of shooting footage only after a committee review and director approval, with the ability to block release indefinitely under "specific and compelling circumstances." Experts say this allows selective disclosure to protect the agency's image.

Professor Christopher Schneider of Brandon University, co-author of a book on police body cameras, said ICE is "saying the quiet part out loud" by using cameras as image-work tools. He expects the agency to release footage that portrays officers favorably while withholding videos of fatal incidents. The rollout follows recent shootings in Houston and Maine that were not recorded, prompting congressional pressure and $20 million in funding.

ICE spent $30.9 million in July on Axon equipment, and cameras have been distributed to over half of field officers. The agency says at least one member of each arrest team will wear a camera. However, critics like former ICE chief of staff Jason Houser call the deployment a "political response" that doesn't address officer training or safety. White House border czar Tom Homan defended the cameras, saying they "exonerate agents more than they provide evidence of wrongdoing."