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Secretary Kristi Noem stood by her decision to equip federal agents with body cameras after President Donald Trump said the move “wasn’t [his] decision.”
During an exclusive interview with Fox News Digital, the DHS secretary said body cameras would make “sure that people know the truth of a situation,” and that both agents and the American people want cameras on federal law enforcement officials.
“Our officers want [body cams] and the people want it, they want the relationship with their communities to know all of the information that we need to have during these situations of conflict and violence,” Noem told Fox News Digital. “And we’ve seen that that can be very helpful in making sure that people know the truth of a situation and that we can get people help as soon as possible.”
Noem pointed to lack of resources as to why agents weren’t previously wearing cameras, and said that many border patrol agents already actively use body cams.
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“The Department of Homeland Security trains a lot of federal agents already, and different agencies have body cameras that they wear already,” Noem explained to Fox..”CBP has many officers that already have body cameras on them.”
“The problem was having the resources to get them on every agent and every officer that’s out there. And then having the resources to do the analyses and the storage of those videos and who can help us really utilize them,” Noem added.
DHS announced that federal law enforcement officers would be required to wear body cameras on Monday. President Donald Trump spoke with reporters shortly after the announcement, saying he supported the move and clarifying the decision was left solely up to Noem.
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“It wasn’t my decision,” Trump said. “I would have you know I leave it to her. [Body cams] generally tend to be good for law enforcement because people can’t lie about what’s happening.”
“If she wants to do that, I’m okay with it,” the president added.
Unrest surrounding federal law enforcement officers and ICE agents has ravaged the country in recent weeks after two individuals, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, were killed on separate occasions by authorities in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
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In Washington, the government shut down largely due to debates surrounding DHS spending. Questions over whether the agency should implement a body camera policy was a key point of contention between Republicans and Democrats, though the GOP ultimately united behind President Trump and passed legislation to end the shutdown on Tuesday afternoon.
The roughly $1.2 trillion package included funding through Sept. 30 for 11 of the 12 of the appropriations bills, while DHS funding was only extended temporarily through Feb. 13 and negotiations over ICE policies continue.
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If lawmakers fail to reach a deal by Feb. 13, the government would enter an additional partial shutdown.
Some far-left members of congress have called for the eradication of ICE as an agency entirely, while others have asked for additional policy discussions surrounding federal agents wearing face masks, warrant requirements, and random immigration sweeps.
Preston Mizell is a writer with Fox News. Story tips can be sent to [email protected] and on X @MizellPreston
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