ICE takes issue with AP reporting on policy to release body-worn camera footage

WASHINGTON (AP) — The acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement took issue Saturday with reporting by The Associated Press on a policy to publicly release body-worn camera footage only when the agency determines it is in its “best interests.”

David J. Venturella said ICE policy “clarifies that it’s not appropriate to release footage when doing so could compromise investigations or privacy. This approach mirrors other federal law enforcement agencies’ policies and is fully consistent with the Freedom of Information Act and the Privacy Act.”

ICE policy calls for the release of footage in the immediate aftermath of a serious injury or death in custody, ideally within 72 hours, if in the “best interests of the agency.” It was adopted in February 2025, after President Donald Trump took office.

“If there are specific and compelling circumstances justifying an objection to public release that cannot be resolved by redaction or other means, when determined by the ICE Director or his or her designee, ICE may withhold or indefinitely delay the release,” the policy states.

Venturella said in a statement that ICE was “committed to transparency and accountability” and was “on track to equip every officer and agent in the field with body-worn cameras by the end of August.” He said the AP conflated “the expedited release of footage following a serious bodily injury or death in custody with ICE’s broader authority to release body-worn camera footage.”

The AP quoted Christopher Schneider, a sociology professor at Brandon University in Canada, who said that selective releases are routine in some law enforcement agencies but usually not so clearly contemplated in policy. “In some ways, ICE is saying the quiet part out loud,” he said.

The AP said policies vary among other law enforcement agencies and cited examples of major police departments that routinely release footage.

The story noted that ICE’s sister agency, Customs and Border Protection, has not released footage of the fatal shooting of Alex Pretti in Minneapolis in January. CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott told lawmakers that it was part of an investigation and would be made public “when it’s appropriate.”

ICE has been under heightened scrutiny since the fatal shooting in July of a 25-year-old motorist in Maine by an ICE officer with a history of violent behavior. Days earlier, another ICE officer shot and killed a Houston homebuilder driving to work. Neither shooting was recorded with body cameras.