[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1497 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1497

 To require all deportation officers of U.S. Immigrations and Customs 
 Enforcement to wear body cameras when engaged in field operations and 
              removal proceedings, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 2017

Ms. Clarke of New York (for herself, Ms. Michelle Lujan Grisham of New 
Mexico, Ms. McCollum, Mr. Hastings, Mr. McGovern, Mr. Veasey, Ms. Lee, 
Ms. Eddie Bernice Johnson of Texas, Ms. Bass, Mr. Richmond, Mr. Carson 
  of Indiana, Ms. Jackson Lee, Mrs. Watson Coleman, Mr. Evans, Mr. Al 
 Green of Texas, Mr. Meeks, Ms. Velazquez, Mr. Soto, and Ms. Kelly of 
  Illinois) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
                       Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To require all deportation officers of U.S. Immigrations and Customs 
 Enforcement to wear body cameras when engaged in field operations and 
              removal proceedings, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``ICE Body Camera Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    Congress finds the following:
            (1) Body cameras employed in police actions have led to 
        increases in public trust and decreases in police violence.
            (2) Employing body cameras in police actions makes 
        enforcement actions safer for law enforcement officers and 
        members of the general public alike while restoring trust and 
        accountability in the process.

SEC. 3. USE OF BODY CAMERAS BY CERTAIN ICE OFFICERS.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 18 months after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, the Director of U.S. Immigration and Customs 
Enforcement (ICE) shall ensure that all deportation officers of 
Enforcement and Removal Operations of ICE wear body cameras when such 
officers are engaged in field operations or removal proceedings.
    (b) Implementation.--To carry out subsection (a), the Director of 
ICE shall, not later than 12 months after the date of the enactment of 
this Act--
            (1) establish policies and procedures for when deportation 
        officers of Enforcement and Removal Operations of ICE should 
        wear, activate, and deactivate body cameras;
            (2) develop standards for the effective placement of such 
        cameras;
            (3) publish and implement best practices for receiving and 
        storing accurate recordings from such cameras;
            (4) establish guidelines and training for such officers on 
        the proper management and use of such cameras; and
            (5) establish policies for the availability of such 
        recordings to the subjects of removal proceedings, victims of 
        crime, internal use by law enforcement officials, and the 
        general public.

SEC. 4. RECORDINGS TO BE PROVIDED TO CERTAIN PERSONS.

    A recording made by a body camera worn by a deportation officer 
during an enforcement action shall be provided, in the case of any 
administrative proceeding (including a removal proceeding), civil 
action, or criminal prosecution to which such recording pertains, to 
each party to the proceeding, action, or prosecution.

SEC. 5. WITHHOLDING OF CERTAIN FUNDS.

    Any funds necessary to purchase, store, use, or maintain body 
cameras described in this Act shall be derived from funds made 
available to purchase new weapons for ICE officials.
                                 <all>