Report: U.S. border patrol to stop using body-worn cameras in the field | Law Enforcement Today

WASHINGTON, D.C. - A statement sent to U.S. Border Patrol agents that was obtained by NewsNation states that border patrol agents will stop using body-worn cameras immediately in all field operations. 

The announcement comes after social media posts revealed how to identify border patrol agents as well as Customs and Enforcement (ICE) agents. The memo stated, "All U.S. Border Patrol Agents will cease the use of body-worn cameras (BWC) in all operational environments." The directive follows notification "regarding a potential security risk."

The statement read, "Pending completion of investigation and risk mitigation, all Agents will stand down the use of their BWCs [body-worn cameras] until further notice. Additional guidance and information will be disseminated as it is received." On the social media platform Reddit, one user claimed that agents could be identified by using BLE Radar by F-Dorid. BLE Radar is a mobile application that functions by scanning for Bluetooth low-energy devices like phones, smartwatches, and speakers.

Other social media posts stated that the devices can be tracked from a distance of 100 yards or more and can trigger improvised explosive device attacks. Fox News reported that the cameras used by border patrol agents are Avon body cameras, which the social media post claims are devices BLE Radar and can be detected.

According to The Hill, ICE is increasing its deportations of immigrants who are here illegally in the United States. They are doing so by using various data sources like commercial databases, driver's records, and utility records to find and deport illegal immigrants who are subject to removal.

In his first few weeks back in the Oval Office, President Donald Trump signed a memo to prepare a facility at Guantánamo Bay for the use of housing deported illegal immigrants. Since the beginning of February, the daily average of gotaways, or illegal immigrants who successfully entered the United States without being apprehended, at the southern border has fallen to just 132 per day, a 93 percent drop from highs seen under former President Joe Biden.

Data obtained by Fox News showed that during fiscal year 2023, 670,674 known gotaways were recorded by the agency, which equates out to more than 1,800 per day. On Friday, February 14th, Trump's border czar Tom Homan told Fox News Digital that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) could be impeding ICE enforcement. 


He clashed with her over a webinar that she hosted advising illegal immigrants about how to handle an encounter with ICE agents. He said, "Let's pray that she is not 'educating' the next murderer of a young college nursing student on how to evade arrest by ICE. How many more young women have to be raped, murdered, and burned alive until she wakes up?"

Homan said that he had emailed the deputy attorney general asking whether Ocasio-Cortez's hosting of a "Known Your Rights with ICE" event on her Facebook page could count as an impediment to federal law enforcement. He said, "Is that impeding our law enforcement efforts? If so, what are we going to do about it? Is she crossing the line? So, I'm working with the Department of Justice and finding out. Where is that line that they cross? So maybe AOC is going to be in trouble now."

During the event, viewers were allegedly informed of how to deal with ICE search requests and warned of "ruses" they allege ICE agents employ to get people to comply with searches. The hosts also shared "trends" in how ICE conducts its searches and people were recommended to record such searches as well as how to differentiate between different warrants ICE agents are likely to carry.

AOC did not take part in the webinar but did upload its tips to Instagram, both in English and Spanish, and called on her followers to share the posters widely and study them. On Thursday, AOC took to X to mock Homan for suggesting she would be in trouble. She wrote, "MaYbe shE's goiNg to be in TroUble nOw. Maybe he can learn to read. The Constitution would be a good place to start."

Homan told Fox News that he was asking the Justice Department for their interpretation of the law regarding impeding and obstruction, and that he is "well aware of the Constitution, but I am also aware that DOJ gives legal interpretation on issues like this to ensure ICE acts in accordance with the law."

ICE interior arrests have skyrocketed under the Trump administration compared to the same period during the Biden administration last year, with a 137 percent increase over last year. Arrests of illegal immigrants with criminal histories have soared by nearly 100 percent from 4,526 in the same period in 2024 to 8,993 under Trump this year.