By Mica Rosenberg

(Reuters) – U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE (NYSE:)) is rolling out a pilot program to test the feasibility of requiring immigration agents to wear body cameras, a senior agency official said on Tuesday, a move that could aid criminal investigations as well increase oversight of agents’ activities.

The cameras are expected to be rolled out first only among specialized teams in ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) division to around 55 agents in offices in New York City, Newark, New Jersey and Houston, Texas, the official told reporters.

The HSI officers, who target transnational criminal organizations for money laundering, drug trafficking, smuggling, terrorism and other crimes, would use the cameras only in pre-planned operations.

The official said the pilot program will be expanded to immigration agents at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations division in the near future, without giving a specific date. The agency said the timing is dependent on negotiations with the division’s union.

Earlier this year, Reuters reported on a plan to equip thousands of border agents of U.S. Customs and Border Protection with body-worn cameras as well. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-outfit-border-agents-with-body-cameras-major-oversight-move-2021-08-04

American Civil Liberties Union has called for increased use of cameras to record potential abuses in law enforcement. Some supporters have criticized ICE’s tactics of illegally arresting immigrant immigrants. 

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, whose agency oversees ICE, said in a statement that with the pilot, the agency “is making an important statement that transparency and accountability are essential components of our ability to fulfill our law enforcement mission and keep communities safe.”

The U.S. President Joe Biden is a Democrat, who has promised a humane approach towards immigration enforcement over his hardline Republican predecessor Donald Trump. ICE arrests dropped under Biden’s leadership, and the agency now focuses on people who are a national security risk or a public safety threat.

The senior official said the pilot program would be “test driving” the cameras to assess their operational utility and financial costs. 

You can request the freedom of information laws to obtain footage. The footage could even be used as evidence in criminal cases. 

The official said the cameras, which will be mounted on agents’ vests, shirts or helmets, would be provided by Axon Enterprises Inc, which also contracted to outfit the border agents.

The company did not comment on the pilot program.