TRUST Act

Key Points

• The bill creates tougher hiring standards for immigration officers, requiring applicants to be at least 21 years old and pass comprehensive background checks. These checks would review social media for bias or extremism, screen for histories of violence, and include psychological fitness assessments.
• Officers would be required to wear body cameras during all public interactions and arrests. If an officer fails to turn on their camera or tampers with footage, the law would create a legal presumption that the missing footage would have shown misconduct. Footage of deaths or serious injuries must be released within 5 days.
• The bill sets strict rules for uniforms and identification. Officers must wear official gear clearly showing their name, agency, and face. They must show their badge and ID card to anyone who asks while on duty, and they cannot wear clothing labeled simply as "Police."
• All officers must complete specialized training before field operations, covering how to avoid wrongfully detaining U.S. citizens, de-escalation techniques, language access for people with limited English, and recognizing medical distress and disabilities during encounters.
• Body camera footage must be stored in isolated systems that cannot be accessed by immigration targeting systems, fusion centers, or intelligence platforms. This prevents surveillance footage from being repurposed for immigration enforcement beyond its original accountability purpose.