Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem announced Monday that body-worn cameras will be used by all federal law enforcement officers in the field in Minneapolis.
The move is a major shift in transparency amid intense scrutiny of recent immigration enforcement operations.
Noem wrote on X that she spoke with Tom Homan, who is overseeing DHS operations in Minneapolis, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, and Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott.
"Effective immediately we are deploying body cameras to every officer in the field in Minneapolis," Noem wrote, adding that as funding becomes available, the body camera program "will be expanded nationwide."
"We will rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country," Noem wrote. "The most transparent administration in American history — thank you @POTUS Trump. Make America Safe Again."
The announcement comes amid widespread controversy over Operation Metro Surge in the Minneapolis-Saint Paul area, a DHS immigration enforcement effort that has drawn national attention after two fatal encounters between federal law enforcement and civilian protesters.
Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz said in a social media post that the move was long overdue and should have been made well before the two fatalities occurred.
He continued: "Border patrol agents should never have been sent in masks and camo to wreak havoc and aimlessly run around a state 1,500 miles from the Southern border."
The decision also comes amid a bitter debate on Capitol Hill over funding for DHS, which has become a crucial sticking point in efforts to end a partial government shutdown that began Saturday.
Lawmakers have clashed over how and whether to fund immigration enforcement operations after two fatal shootings involving federal agents in Minneapolis, with body cameras and other operational reforms emerging as central issues.
Senate Democrats have demanded new requirements for immigration agents — including mandatory body-worn cameras, unmasking officers, and other transparency measures — as conditions for backing DHS funding.
They warned they would block broader funding legislation and risk a shutdown if their demands were not met.
The clash over DHS funding is directly tied to broader government financing negotiations.
Lawmakers have been trying to pass appropriations bills before the funding deadline, but disagreements over DHS — particularly how immigration enforcement is conducted and monitored — have imperiled those efforts.
Earlier proposals in Congress included a short-term continuing resolution for DHS to allow time for negotiations, but Democrats have pushed to attach reforms to any funding measure, including requirements on body cameras and other operational changes.
Noem’s directive to deploy body cameras to DHS officers is likely intended to address some of the transparency concerns raised in the budget negotiations, but lawmakers remain far apart on other demands tied to immigration enforcement oversight. The House is set to resume debate on funding measures this week as both parties seek a path to reopen the government and resolve the impasse.
The body-worn camera rollout, while a policy push, has become enmeshed in the high-stakes political fight over federal spending — a rare moment in which law enforcement technology and budget brinkmanship are intersecting in real time at the nation’s capital.
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