ICE membantah laporan yang menyebutkan kamera tubuh yang merekam secara otomatis

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), a United States agency that has taken a central role in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign, has rejected a government report calling for its agents to wear body cameras that automatically activate.

On Wednesday, the Government Accountability Office, a nonpartisan agency that provides research to Congress, released a report recommending an update to ICE guidelines for camera usage.

It suggested that “automated camera activation” would be helpful in situations where “unexpected and unplanned incidents, unrelated to sensitive operations, result in use of force by or against personnel”.

“Given the important role of body-worn cameras in law enforcement activities, we maintain that additional controls are needed to help ensure that ICE personnel capture footage in accordance with policy,” the report said.

Automatic activation, it added, would address difficulties ICE agents face in manually turning on their cameras during enforcement operations.

But ICE has rejected the recommendation for automatic activation, which could be triggered by an agent pulling a gun or turning on a car siren. The agency cited privacy concerns.

But the Trump administration faces public pressure to improve transparency during its immigration raids.

Agents from ICE and other agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have faced accusations of excessive force and civil liberties violations.

In January, two US citizens – Renee Good and Alex Pretti – were shot to death in separate shootings in Minneapolis, Minnesota, during immigration operations.

The New York Times estimated in July that immigration agents had opened fire on at least 25 people since the start of Trump’s second term. A CBS News review updated this week counts at least 30 shootings, with nine people killed and 13 others wounded.

ICE has often blamed such incidents on aggression against its agents, and it has argued that its officers have opened fire to defend themselves from danger.

But in several cases, that rationale has come under scrutiny.

Critics argued that video footage in Good’s fatal shooting disproved government statements alleging that she had weaponised her vehicle against agents. Her car, according to observers, appeared to be turning away from agents, not towards them.

In another case, ICE agent Christian Castro was accused of making false statements about a shooting that resulted in injury to Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, a Venezuelan man living in Minneapolis.

Castro faces federal charges for allegedly lying about being attacked with a snow shovel and broom before the shooting, after video footage contradicted his account. Castro pleaded not guilty last month.

More recently, on October 8, immigration agents shot a man named Oscar Belgal in New York City while his five-year-old son was in the backseat of his car. ICE stated that Belgal appeared to be “going towards officers” in his car when they opened fire.

On Tuesday, a judge rejected the government’s effort to have Belgal deported.

Activists say better recording procedures for body camera footage could help clarify what happened in such incidents.

But the Trump administration has largely refused to implement reforms to ICE protocol.

Earlier this year, Democrats in Congress delayed funding for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, on the basis that significant changes needed to be made to reduce incidents of excessive force.

The department said on Wednesday that automatically recording cameras could result in “the unauthorised recording of sensitive interactions with informants or victims”.

The agency added that all ICE offices had received body cameras as of August 5, but that training in their use was still ongoing and would be finished “soon”.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), lembaga Amerika Serikat yang mengambil peran sentral dalam kampanye deportasi massal Presiden Donald Trump, menolak laporan pemerintah yang menyerukan agar agennya mengenakan kamera tubuh yang aktif secara otomatis.

Pada Rabu, Government Accountability Office, lembaga nonpartisan yang menyediakan riset untuk Kongres, merilis laporan yang merekomendasikan pembaruan pedoman ICE untuk penggunaan kamera.

Laporan itu menyarankan bahwa "aktivasi kamera otomatis" akan berguna dalam situasi ketika "insiden tak terduga dan tidak terencana, yang tidak terkait dengan operasi sensitif, mengakibatkan penggunaan kekuatan oleh atau terhadap personel".

"Mengingat pentingnya peran kamera tubuh dalam kegiatan penegakan hukum, kami mempertahankan bahwa kontrol tambahan diperlukan untuk membantu memastikan bahwa personel ICE merekam footage sesuai dengan kebijakan," kata laporan itu.

Aktivasi otomatis, tambahnya, akan mengatasi kesulitan yang dihadapi agen ICE dalam menyalakan kamera mereka secara manual selama operasi penegakan.

Namun ICE menolak rekomendasi untuk aktivasi otomatis, yang bisa dipicu oleh agen yang menarik senjata atau menyalakan sirene mobil. Lembaga itu beralasan masalah privasi.

Namun pemerintahan Trump menghadapi tekanan publik untuk meningkatkan transparansi selama razia imigrasi.

Agen dari ICE dan lembaga lain seperti Customs and Border Protection (CBP) telah menghadapi tuduhan penggunaan kekuatan berlebihan dan pelanggaran kebebasan sipil.

Pada Januari, dua warga negara AS – Renee Good dan Alex Pretti – ditembak mati dalam dua insiden penembakan terpisah di Minneapolis, Minnesota, selama operasi imigrasi.

The New York Times memperkirakan pada Juli bahwa agen imigrasi telah melepaskan tembakan ke setidaknya 25 orang sejak awal masa jabatan kedua Trump. Tinjauan CBS News yang diperbarui pekan ini menghitung setidaknya 30 penembakan, dengan sembilan orang tewas dan 13 lainnya terluka.

ICE sering menyalahkan insiden semacam itu pada agresi terhadap agennya, dan berargumen bahwa petugasnya melepaskan tembakan untuk membela diri dari bahaya.

Namun dalam beberapa kasus, alasan itu menjadi sorotan.

Kritikus berargumen bahwa rekaman video dalam penembakan fatal Good membantah pernyataan pemerintah yang menuduh dia menggunakan kendaraannya sebagai senjata terhadap agen. Mobilnya, menurut pengamat, tampak menjauh dari agen, bukan mengarah ke mereka.

Dalam kasus lain, agen ICE Christian Castro dituduh membuat pernyataan palsu tentang penembakan yang mengakibatkan cedera pada Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, seorang pria Venezuela yang tinggal di Minneapolis.

Castro menghadapi tuduhan federal karena diduga berbohong tentang diserang dengan sekop salju dan sapu sebelum penembakan, setelah rekaman video membantah keterangannya. Castro mengaku tidak bersalah bulan lalu.

Baru-baru ini, pada 8 Oktober, agen imigrasi menembak seorang pria bernama Oscar Belgal di New York City saat anaknya yang berusia lima tahun berada di kursi belakang mobilnya. ICE menyatakan bahwa Belgal tampak "bergerak menuju petugas" dengan mobilnya ketika mereka melepaskan tembakan.

Pada Selasa, seorang hakim menolak upaya pemerintah untuk mendeportasi Belgal.

Aktivis mengatakan prosedur perekaman yang lebih baik untuk footage kamera tubuh dapat membantu memperjelas apa yang terjadi dalam insiden semacam itu.

Namun pemerintahan Trump sebagian besar menolak menerapkan reformasi terhadap protokol ICE.

Awal tahun ini, Demokrat di Kongres menunda pendanaan untuk Departemen Keamanan Dalam Negeri, yang mengawasi ICE, dengan alasan bahwa perubahan signifikan perlu dilakukan untuk mengurangi insiden penggunaan kekuatan berlebihan.

Departemen itu mengatakan pada Rabu bahwa kamera yang merekam secara otomatis dapat mengakibatkan "perekaman tanpa izin atas interaksi sensitif dengan informan atau korban".

Lembaga itu menambahkan bahwa semua kantor ICE telah menerima kamera tubuh per 5 Agustus, tetapi pelatihan penggunaannya masih berlangsung dan akan selesai "segera".