Democrats fear body cameras could be ICE's new mass surveillance tool

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Politico

02/07/2026 02:00 PM EST


A push to put body cameras on all ICE agents has Democrats running headlong into a new problem: fear that the technology will provide another avenue for mass surveillance of protesters.

Congressional Democratic leaders have made universal use of body cameras one of their prime demands for imposing accountability on Immigration and Customs Enforcement, especially after federal agents fatally shot two American citizens in Minneapolis. But after an outcry from privacy advocates that surveillance tools will allow ICE agents to identify and track protesters, Democrats are also calling for restrictions on how the body cameras can be used.

Lawmakers and legal observers have accused ICE of leveraging a variety of cameras to surveil protesters, feeding pictures into license plate readers and facial recognition systems. Democrats now worry that the body cameras they’re demanding could be used for similar purposes. Democrats have proposed legislation to limit ICE’s use of facial recognition, but the proposals are unlikely to advance without bipartisan support.

House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer say they want to tack on restrictions to how ICE can use body camera footage, according to a letter sent to Republican leadership on Wednesday night. “Prohibit tracking, creating or maintaining databases of individuals participating in First Amendment activities,” the letter says.

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2026/02/07/democrats-fear-body-cameras-could-be-ices-new-mass-surveillance-tool-00769363

[mysteryowl]

1. It is time for protestors to wear face masks!

ICE and border patrol take theirs off and we put ours on!

[somsai]

2. In public you should always assume you are on video and subject to facial recognition

Likewise always know that there is a possibility that a video has been doctored to show absolutely anything.

It's 2026

[OldBaldy1701E]

3. Exactly.

That is why I don't share their concerns. They are already doing this, so why worry about the new cameras? They are going to do whatever they can to ruin us, and using footage from anywhere will be on the table. From all any of us know, they have a crew that regularly goes on internet searches for certain 'agitators' and they can and will find all kinds of things that they can use. And, they will use it.

There is far more about you and of you online than you ever imagined. You just are not aware of it.