October 17, 2025

Duckworth, Durbin Demand ICE and CBP Enforce Body Camera Requirements in Compliance with Federal Order

The Senators’ demand follows reports of ICE releasing misleading accounts of recent immigration enforcement operations in Chicagoland

 

[WASHINGTON, D.C.] – U.S. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) are demanding that the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) act immediately to ensure all U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) law enforcement officers assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wear and activate body-worn cameras (BWCs) when carrying out civil immigration enforcement operations in Illinois, in compliance with agency policy and a lawful order from a Federal judge. In their letter, the Senators highlight the critical role BWC footage plays in accountability and transparency around law enforcement encounters, especially in events involving use of force.

“Enhancing public trust around civil immigration enforcement activities in Illinois is particularly important following ICE’s launch of Operation Midway Blitz and the increasing participation of CBP in related enforcement actions,” wrote the Senators. “Since the launch of this operation, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public statements describing civil enforcement actions have proven misleading at best, following the emergence of additional facts and evidence.”

On October 4, U.S. Border Patrol officers shot Marimar Martinez in Chicago’s Brighton Park after claiming she was armed—a narrative her attorney disputes, alleging body-cam footage contradicts that claim. Rate of activation for BWCs at enforcement operations have also not been shared—including the middle-of-the-night raid at an apartment complex in South Shore on September 30, 2025, which resulted in the indiscriminate temporary detention of U.S. citizens.

“Regular use of BWCs provides an extra layer of safety for both law enforcement officers and the public they serve and helps to increase trust between the two,” continued the lawmakers. “Such incidents underscore the importance of BWC footage, which plays a vital role in promoting responsible law enforcement tactics and verifying DHS accounts against facts on the ground and, ultimately, is in the best interest of agents, officials and individuals involved in use of force incidents.”

The full text of the letter is available on Senator Duckworth’s website and below:

Dear Acting Assistant Commissioner Danley:

We write to request that the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) act swiftly to ensure all U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) law enforcement officers assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wear and activate body-worn cameras (BWCs) when carrying out civil immigration enforcement operations in Illinois, in compliance with agency policy and a lawful order from a Federal judge.

CBP guidance highlights the indispensable role BWC footage plays in promoting accountability and transparency around enforcement encounters, especially in use of force incidents. Under CBP Directive 4320-030B, Incident-Driven Video Recording System Directive, Border Patrol agents, CBP officers, and Air and Marine agents are instructed to record enforcement encounters at their start or as soon as possible, except when doing so may jeopardize their safety, and deactivate their BWC once their involvement in an enforcement encounter has concluded. Further, a Federal judge on the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois issued an updated order on October 16, 2025, requiring that all agents working under Operation Midway Blitz to wear and activate their BWCs during law enforcement activities in Chicago. By complying with this agency directive and this court order while conducting civil immigration enforcement in the interior of the United States—outside of the scope of CBP’s mission—CBP agents and officers will promote the safety of Federal law enforcement officers and community members. Enhancing public trust around civil immigration enforcement activities in Illinois is particularly important following ICE’s launch of “Operation Midway Blitz” and the increasing participation of CBP in related enforcement actions.

Since the launch of this operation, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) public statements describing civil enforcement actions have proven misleading at best, following the emergence of additional facts and evidence. For example, in describing an incident on October 4, 2025, in which two individuals allegedly rammed a DHS vehicle in the Brighton Park neighborhood of Chicago resulting in the shooting of one of the suspects, DHS repeatedly emphasized that the injured individual possessed a firearm, implying that the agent’s lethal use of force was justified. However, in the subsequent criminal complaint, no mention of the firearm appeared. It was later disclosed that the individual possessed a Firearm Owners ID, legally purchased the firearm in question, and had a concealed carry permit; and during the incident, the firearm was concealed in a bag and never removed, let alone pointed, at an agent. While all three Border Patrol agents involved in the incident were equipped with BWCs, only one activated their camera ahead of the incident.

Regular use of BWCs provides an extra layer of safety for both law enforcement officers and the public they serve and helps to increase trust between the two. Despite that, CBP has yet to provide the public or Congress with information about Border Patrol agents’ rate of activation of BWCs at other enforcement operations involving U.S. Border Patrol in Chicago, including a middle-of-the-night raid at an apartment complex in South Shore on September 30, 2025, which resulted in the indiscriminate temporary detention of U.S. citizens. Such incidents underscore the importance of BWC footage, which plays a vital role in promoting responsible law enforcement tactics and verifying DHS accounts against facts on the ground and, ultimately, is in the best interest of agents, officials and individuals involved in use of force incidents.

We urge you to ensure that all CBP officers and agents engaged in civil immigration enforcement operations in Illinois and across the nation wear and activate BWCs and that the agency expeditiously complies with CBP Directive 4320-030B and the terms of the district court’s order.

Sincerely,

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