Federal immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras, judge says

CHICAGO (AP) — Federal immigration officers in the Chicago area will be required to wear body cameras, a judge said Thursday after seeing tear gas and other aggressive steps used against protesters.

US District Judge Sarah Ellis said she was “a little flabbergasted” after seeing television images of clashes between agents and the public during President Donald Trump’s administration’s anti-immigration campaign.

Read more: Protesters on Chicago’s South Side were tear gassed after high-speed Border Patrol chase ended in arrest

“I live in Chicago if people haven’t noticed,” she said. “And I’m not blind, am I?”
Community efforts to oppose U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement have intensified in the nation’s third-largest city, where neighborhood groups have gathered to monitor ICE activity and photograph incidents involving agents.

Separately, the Trump administration tried to deploy National Guard troops, but the strategy was blocked last week by another judge.

Ellis said last week that agents in the area must wear badges, and banned them from using certain riot control techniques against peaceful protesters and journalists.

“I receive images and I see images on the news, in newspapers, and I read reports that I have concerns about following my order,” the judge said.

Sean Skidzelewski, a lawyer representing the government, blamed “one-sided and selectively edited media reporting.”

In 2024, ICE will begin deploying approximately 1,600 body-worn cameras to enforcement and removal agents.

At the time, officials said it would be presented to agents operating in Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, New York and Detroit. Other DHS agencies require some agents to wear cameras. U.S. Customs and Border Protection has released body camera video of when force is used by its agents or officers.