The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has implemented a new policy that requires Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to wear body cameras as part of an effort to increase “transparency and accountability” between the agency and communities. However, TIME Magazine reports that footage from the cameras will only be released to the public if DHS determines that it is in the “best interests” of the agency, calling into question the policy’s real goal. Dr. Phillip Atiba Solomon, CPE’s CEO and Co-founder, also noted in the article that ICE’s use of body cameras create privacy concerns:
Solomon notes that privacy is one of his biggest concerns—especially because the Trump Administration has not ruled out the presence of ICE officers at voting sites in November.
Although DHS previously told election officials that ICE would not target polling locations, both Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin and Trump have since declined to categorically rule out a federal immigration enforcement presence at the polls.
ICE officers with recording devices could deter voters from turning out, he explains: “If you’re not sure, or if you’ve got a record, and you just don’t want to be on the grid, you are not going to the polling place.”
Read the full article on TIME’s website.