Political Quotes

“Mr. Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Chair, in its report accompanying this bill, the Appropriations Committee states that: ``ICE is currently evaluating the use of body- worn cameras for potential use in its field enforcement activities, and notes that such cameras can be important tools for both holding law enforcement personnel accountable and for exonerating officers accused of wrongdoing.'' My amendment would support ICE's use of body-worn cameras by providing $10 million exclusively for ICE to deploy this technology. The citizens of this country have come to expect law enforcement officers to wear body cameras even when enforcing immigration laws, and law enforcement agencies throughout the country are quickly adopting this technology. Body-worn cameras are widely supported, because they are important tools that improve officer interactions with the public, deescalate conflicts, and improve public trust in law enforcement, but this tool is expensive, so we need to provide the resources ICE needs to get its program up and running. The $10 million in this amendment mirrors the amount of money I am requesting for border patrol agent cameras. Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.”