Dem-Backed ICE Body Cams Are a Giveaway to Weapons Makers
To reduce ICE misconduct, Democratic legislators propose that its agents be required to wear body cameras. Evidence of body camera efficacy is remarkably thin, but weapons technology companies are set to make millions from the “reform.”
With the crucial support of congressional Democrats, and under the guise of reform, a weapons technology company is set to make millions in federal contracts for body cameras to be worn by ICE agents. (Armando L. Sanchez / Chicago Tribune / Tribune News Service via Getty Images)
Amid President Donald Trump’s violent immigration crackdown in Minneapolis, industry-backed Democrats just helped congressional Republicans turn proposed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) reforms into a $20 million windfall for the body camera industry.
Federal disclosures reviewed by the Lever show that Axon Enterprise, Inc., a weapons company and the country’s largest manufacturer of body-worn cameras, has lobbied aggressively since July on the $64 billion Department of Homeland Security spending bill that lawmakers passed on Thursday. The company’s CEO, a regular campaign contributor to Republicans, also donated directly to key Democratic lawmakers who pushed for the body camera measures.
Now, the company is well-positioned to reap the benefits of the $20 million allocated by the legislation for body cameras as part of ICE’s extended $10 billion budget, on top of the $75 billion in additional funding the agency received from the One Big Beautiful bill last year.
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