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Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Todd Lyons told lawmakers Tuesday that body cameras from ICE operations in Minnesota will be phased out, while acknowledging that about 3,000 of the nearly 13,000 ICE agents currently wear body cameras.
Lyons said this during a hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee, as lawyers pressured the agency following the deaths of Renee Good and Alex Pretti last month. The hearing grew contentious as ICE officials conceded the limited use of body cameras and lawmakers clashed over enforcement strategies.
In Good’s case, recorded footage of the fatal incident included video from a federal agent’s personal phone and later released publicly, as well as witness footage. Pretti’s incident was captured on video by a bystander. Lyons did not specify whether body camera footage was available from either of the fatal incidents.
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Acting Director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Todd Lyons testifies with U.S. Defense and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Director Joseph Edlow during a Homeland Security Committee hearing on Feb. 10, 2026. (Samuel Corum/Getty Images)
“Body cameras have been deployed in Minnesota. I think transparency helps restore public trust. Is there a plan to release any footage to the public?” Rep. Tony Gonzales, R-Texas, asked Lyons.
“100%, sir. One thing I’m committed to – full transparency. And I fully embrace body cameras across the spectrum in all of our law enforcement operations,” Lyons said. “Body camera footage will be released.”
Gonzales welcomed the response, saying he agreed “absolutely.”
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Photos of Renee Good and Alex Pretti, who were both killed during the immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, were revealed after ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee Rep. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds / AFP via Getty Images)
“Everyone thinks body camera footage is bad footage, but in most cases it’s the opposite,” Gonzales said. “We’re seeing through the lens of an executive what they’re dealing with every day, not just a 15-second clip that we see on TikTok or whatever.”
Minnesota has become a flashpoint for resistance to immigration enforcement, with protesters clashing with federal agents and trying to block ICE operations during recent crackdowns.
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ICE agents stopped by the scene of a woman who was shot and killed the next day during an operation on Jan. 7, 2026, Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Christopher Juhn/Anadolu via Getty Images)
During the hearing, Lyons said that more than 3,000 ICE officers currently have active body cameras in the field, and another 6,000 are being deployed, ensuring that most ICE agents remain unarmed.
Customs and Border Protection Commissioner Rodney Scott told lawmakers that about 10,000 of the agency’s nearly 20,000 Border Patrol agents have body cameras, although Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., expressed skepticism and asked Scott to give the committee an accurate figure.
