[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 3699 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
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119th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 3699
To amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to require
all Federal law enforcement officers engaged in or supporting
immigration enforcement or related enforcement activities to wear and
operate a body camera while on duty to ensure transparency and
accountability.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
January 27, 2026
Mr. Booker (for himself, Ms. Klobuchar, and Ms. Smith) introduced the
following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on
the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act to require
all Federal law enforcement officers engaged in or supporting
immigration enforcement or related enforcement activities to wear and
operate a body camera while on duty to ensure transparency and
accountability.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLES.
This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Officers Camera Use for
Safety Act'' or the ``FOCUS Act''.
SEC. 2. BODY CAMERA USAGE.
Section 287 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1357)
is amended--
(1) by striking ``Service'' each place such term appears
and inserting ``Department of Homeland Security'';
(2) by striking ``Attorney General'' each place such term
appears and inserting ``Secretary of Homeland Security'';
(3) in subsection (h)--
(A) by striking ``of the Immigration and
Nationality Act''; and
(B) by striking ``of such Act''; and
(4) by adding at the end the following:
``(i) Body Camera Usage.--
``(1) Definitions.--In this subsection:
``(A) Body worn camera.--The term `body worn
camera' means a mobile audio and video recording system
worn by a law enforcement officer.
``(B) Federal law enforcement officer.--The term
`Federal law enforcement officer'--
``(i) means any officer, agent, or employee
of the United States Government that is
authorized by law or by a Government agency to
engage in or supervise the prevention,
detection, or investigation of any violation of
Federal civil or criminal law; and
``(ii) includes individuals employed by
private contractors who are so authorized to
carry out the functions described in clause
(i).
``(2) In general.--Each Federal law enforcement officer
shall wear and operate a body worn camera while engaged in or
supporting immigration enforcement or related enforcement
activities.
``(3) Use of footage.--Except as provided in paragraph (4),
video footage from a body worn camera operated pursuant to
paragraph (2)--
``(A) shall be retained for 1 year after the date
on which such footage was recorded by the agency that
employed the Federal law enforcement officer that was
wearing the body worn camera; and
``(B) may be permanently deleted after the period
described in subparagraph (A) unless such footage
captured--
``(i) images involving any use of force;
``(ii) events preceding and including an
arrest or detention for a crime or attempted
crime; or
``(iii) an encounter about which a
complaint has been registered by a subject of
the video footage.
``(4) Extended retention period.--Video footage from a body
worn camera operated pursuant to paragraph (2) shall be
retained for not less than 3 years after the date on which such
footage was recorded if a longer retention period is
voluntarily requested by--
``(A) the Federal law enforcement officer whose
body worn camera recorded the video footage, if such
officer reasonably asserts the video footage has
evidentiary or exculpatory value;
``(B) a Federal law enforcement officer who is a
subject of the video footage, if such officer
reasonably asserts the video footage has evidentiary or
exculpatory value;
``(C) any supervisor of an officer whose body worn
camera recorded the video footage or who is a subject
of the video footage, if such supervisor reasonably
asserts the video footage has evidentiary or
exculpatory value;
``(D) a Federal law enforcement officer, if the
video footage is being retained solely and exclusively
for training purposes;
``(E) a member of the public who is a subject of
the video footage, or such individual's legal
representative;
``(F) a parent or legal guardian of a minor who is
a subject of the video footage; or
``(G) a deceased subject's next of kin or legally
authorized designee.
``(5) Access to footage.--All video footage of any
interaction or event captured by a body camera that is
requested by a person or entity and identified with reasonable
specificity shall be provided to such person or entity in
accordance with the procedures for requesting and providing
government records set forth in section 552 of title 5, United
States Code.
``(6) Body worn camera accountability requirements.--All
body worn cameras shall be equipped with--
``(A) automatic camera activation;
``(B) audit trail logging;
``(C) GPS-based location services; and
``(D) LTE wireless evidence upload.''.
SEC. 3. COMPLIANCE AND REPORTING.
(a) Defined Term.--In this section, the term ``Federal law
enforcement officer''--
(1) means any officer, agent, or employee of the United
States Government authorized by law or by a Government agency
to engage in or supervise the prevention, detection, or
investigation of any violation of Federal civil or criminal
law; and
(2) includes individuals employed by private contractors
who are so authorized to carry out the functions described in
paragraph (1).
(b) Internal Accountability.--Any Federal law enforcement officer
who fails to comply with the requirements under section 287(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2 shall be--
(1) required to review the body worn camera policy of the
agency employing such officer; and
(2) subject to appropriate administrative discipline,
including written reprimand, suspension, or other personnel
actions, consistent with agency policy and any applicable
collective bargaining agreement.
(c) Documentation.--Each violation of section 287(i) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2, caused by a
device malfunction, operator error, or other circumstances, shall be
documented in a report that--
(1) is submitted by the Federal law enforcement officer
involved in such violation to his or her supervisor; and
(2) includes, as applicable, a description of the reason
the recording was not made, was interrupted, or was terminated.
(d) Misconduct.--Any Federal law enforcement officer who
intentionally turns off the body worn camera in violation of section
287(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2,
shall be subject to discipline, which may include termination of
employment.
(e) Supervisory Responsibilities.--Each supervisor of Federal law
enforcement officers shall ensure that such officers receive the
required training regarding the use of body worn cameras in accordance
with the policies described in section 287(i) of the Immigration and
Nationality Act and this Act.
(f) Annual Report to Congress.--Not later than 1 year after the
date of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the
Secretary of Homeland Security shall submit an unredacted report to the
Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties, the Committee on the
Judiciary of the Senate, the Committee on Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs of the Senate, the Committee on the Judiciary of
the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Homeland Security of
the House of Representatives that includes--
(1) the number of documented violations of section 287(i)
of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as added by section 2;
and
(2) a summary of disciplinary or remedial actions taken
against Federal law enforcement officers responsible for such
violations.
(g) Public Availability.--
(1) In general.--Subject to paragraph (2), not later than
30 days after each annual report is submitted to Congress
pursuant to subsection (f)--
(A) the Secretary of Homeland Security shall post a
copy of the report on a publicly accessible website of
the Department of Homeland Security; and
(B) the congressional committees referred to in
subsection (f) shall post a copy of the report on their
respective websites.
(2) Redactions to publicly available report.--The Inspector
General of the Department of Homeland Security may redact
information from the public version of such report if--
(A) such redactions are necessary to protect
sensitive law enforcement operations, ongoing
investigations, or individual privacy; and
(B) the justification for such redactions is
included in the report.
(h) Independent Review Panel.--The Secretary of Homeland Security
shall establish an independent advisory panel composed of experts in
civil rights, privacy, technology, and law enforcement oversight to
provide recommendations regarding policies governing the use and
management of body worn cameras and recorded footage.
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