(NEXSTAR) – In recent weeks, federal agents have been involved in two fatal shootings in Minneapolis. These incidents, which claimed the lives of Alex Pretti and Renee Good, were captured in multiple cellphone videos shared widely. However, there has been no release of body camera footage from these events.

The reason behind the absence of such footage is that officers were not obligated to use body cameras during these encounters.

Currently, not all officers in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are required to wear body cameras when interacting with the public or conducting arrests.

Data from June 2025, analyzed by the Washington Post, reveals that although ICE possessed 4,400 cameras, the agency’s workforce has swelled to 22,000 agents, indicating that only a small fraction of them have been equipped with cameras.

ICE’s policy acknowledges that body cameras could enhance the effectiveness of operations and help build public trust. In light of Renee Good’s death, Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary, emphasized that providing agents with cameras is a “priority,” attributing the current shortfall to decisions made by the Biden administration.

However, in its initial budget proposal for the fiscal year, DHS moved to cut funding and staffing from the program that would equip all officers with body-worn cameras. The Department has also placed a majority of staffers who work for internal watchdogs on leave, Reuters reports.

A budget bill ultimately passed by the House last week sets aside $20 million for the purchase and operations of body cameras for ICE and CBP officers. That bill has since become a flashpoint in a debate over ICE funding in the Senate, putting the government at risk of another shutdown if an agreement isn’t reached by the end of the month.

An unnamed DHS official told NewsNation that officers in the area were wearing cameras and the footage was being reviewed. NewsNation reporter Kellie Meyer asked White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt if the footage would be released to the public. Leavitt said the president had not committed to releasing the video.

Nexstar asked DHS whether any ICE officer in the area when Pretti was killed was wearing a body camera, and how many agents working in Minneapolis have been equipped with cameras. The agency has not responded to either question.

When Good was shot and killed on Jan. 7, there was an ICE agent recording the confrontation on a cell phone, showing officers interacting with Good as she sat behind the wheel of her car. The video was released and became the subject of much analysis and debate. While Vice President J.D. Vance said the footage proved the officer fired in self-defense, a New York Times analysis said the video showed the vehicle was turning away from the officer when he fired.

In October of last year, a judge in Chicago ordered all ICE agents working in the city to wear and turn on body cameras as they did mass enforcement operations.