Noem Orders Federal Agents in Minneapolis to Wear Body Cameras

The Department of Homeland Security announced Monday that all federal agents operating in Minneapolis will now be required to wear body-worn cameras, a policy change ordered by DHS Secretary Kristi Noem and taking effect immediately.

The directive applies across multiple DHS components, including Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), and follows intense political scrutiny after two fatal incidents involving federal immigration agents in the Twin Cities last month.

“This decision is about accountability and transparency,” Noem said in a statement. “Body cameras protect both the public and our officers by ensuring that interactions are documented and judged on facts, not speculation.”

DHS officials said the mandate will create an objective record of enforcement encounters, help resolve disputed narratives, and deter false allegations against federal officers. The department also confirmed plans to expand the program nationwide once additional funding is secured.

The policy change comes in the wake of January shootings involving Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old radical agitator, and Renee Good, a Minneapolis mother of three who was shot and killed after injuring an ICE agent with her SUV during an enforcement incident.

Homeland Security has confirmed that four CBP officers present during the Pretti encounter were wearing body cameras, though that footage has not yet been released publicly.

Announcing the directive, Noem emphasized that transparency ultimately benefits both public trust and officer safety.

“When full footage is available, it often dispels misinformation and shows the incredibly dangerous situations our agents face daily,” she said.

President Donald J. Trump voiced support for the move during a White House meeting, calling it “a good thing for law enforcement.”

“People can’t lie about what’s happening when there’s video,” Trump said.

The decision marks a notable shift under President Trump’s second-term administration. Earlier, DHS had rescinded a Biden-era executive order mandating body-worn cameras for federal officers. Noem’s order reinstates the requirement in Minneapolis, one of the country’s most politically volatile enforcement environments.

The White House said initial funding will come from existing DHS enforcement budgets, while additional resources for nationwide implementation were included in a bipartisan funding package passed by the Senate last week. The bill allocates $20 million for body-camera procurement and now awaits House approval as part of broader government funding negotiations.

Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz criticized the timing of the policy, arguing it should have been implemented sooner.

“This should have happened long before federal officers killed two Americans,” Walz wrote on X.

Civil-rights groups welcomed the announcement but cautioned that transparency depends on how DHS handles footage release.

“Body cameras are only meaningful if the videos are made accessible to the public and not selectively withheld,” said Aaron Reichlin-Melnick, a senior fellow with the American Immigration Council.

Republicans and law-enforcement advocates largely defended the policy, noting that widespread adoption of body cameras since 2020 has often disproven misconduct claims built on partial or misleading clips. DHS echoed that assessment, saying full recordings frequently protect officers from false accusations.

The rollout also coincides with a Justice Department civil-rights investigation into Pretti’s death — the first such probe involving a DHS enforcement action under the current administration.

Last week, President Trump dispatched Border Czar Tom Homan to Minneapolis to assume operational control from Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, whose handling of recent operations drew bipartisan criticism.

Under Noem’s directive, every DHS officer in Minneapolis — including ICE, CBP, and related enforcement units — must activate body cameras during all field operations, arrests, and public interactions.

DHS said the policy will remain in effect indefinitely and may be expanded to other major metropolitan areas “as quickly as logistics and funding allow.”

“This is about facts, not politics,” Noem said Monday evening. “From this day forward, every DHS intervention in Minneapolis will be recorded, and accountability will be built into every encounter.”