FOCUS Act

Key Points

• Senator Booker introduced a bill that would require every federal officer or private contractor working on immigration enforcement to wear a body camera while on duty. These cameras must be equipped with automatic activation, GPS location tracking, and wireless video uploading.
• The government would be required to keep all recorded footage for at least one year. If the video shows an arrest, a use of force, or if a person involved files a complaint, the footage must be saved for at least three years.
• People who are captured in the videos, or their legal representatives and family members, would have the right to request and receive copies of the footage. The bill also allows the general public to request videos through standard government record-sharing procedures.
• Officers who fail to follow the rules or intentionally turn off their cameras could face discipline, including being fired. The Department of Homeland Security would also have to release a yearly public report detailing how many times officers broke these rules and what happened to them as a result.
• This policy aims to increase transparency and accountability by ensuring there is a clear video record of interactions between federal immigration agents and the public.