Democrats Slam Susan Collins for Blaming Them Over ICE Body Cam Failure in Fatal Shooting

Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) is under fire after she absurdly blamed Democrats for the absence of body cameras on the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who shot and killed a man in Maine.

Collins claimed that the ICE agent wasn’t equipped with a body camera because federal immigration enforcement agents still lack them. “They don’t have them yet,” she stated, pointing to delays caused by a government shutdown that hindered the processing of orders for these cameras.

She anticipates that body cameras will be distributed to ICE agents “within the next 45 days.”

As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins noted that President Donald Trump signed a law in April allocating $20 million for body cameras for all ICE agents. However, she asserted that the Department of Homeland Security failed to distribute them due to months of funding issues stemming from partisan disputes over ICE funding and basic safeguards for agents.

“What appears to have happened is that there now has been ... somewhat of an increase of ICE activities before the additional training and body-worn cameras were deployed,” Collins said. She added, “But to be fair to the Department of Homeland Security, they couldn’t enter into contracts when the government was shut down by the Democrats.”

Democrats quickly shot back, dismissing Collins’ claims as disconnected from reality.

Senator Patty Murray (D-Wash.), the leading Democrat on the appropriations panel, pointed out that Republicans allocated tens of billions to ICE last summer through Trump’s so-called One Big Beautiful Bill. This funding, she argued, could have been utilized at any time to implement body cameras nationwide.

The bill specifically allocated $29.85 billion to ICE for various purposes, including body cameras, and another $10 billion to the DHS secretary for “border support,” which essentially functions as a slush fund for a wide range of uses.

Murray criticized the administration for misusing taxpayer dollars on extravagant items like private jets and luxury SUVs instead of prioritizing accountability measures such as body cameras. “The idea that Democrats are to blame for the Trump administration’s failure to deploy body cameras to the field and to protect people from out-of-control agents that they have failed to properly train is completely absurd,” she stated.

She emphasized that funding is not the issue, as ICE possesses more financial resources than many modern militaries. “It’s been this administration’s refusal to quickly put in place basic accountability measures like requiring body cameras,” she added.

Staff members from the House Homeland Security Committee echoed Murray’s sentiments.

“Body cameras are purchased. ICE has them. Guidance is written. They’re just dragging their feet on deploying them,” said aides who requested anonymity to speak candidly.

Months have passed since the Trump administration promised swift action on body cameras.

On February 2, shortly after ICE agents fatally shot VA nurse Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, then-Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem vowed to “rapidly acquire and deploy body cameras to DHS law enforcement across the country.” That promise went unfulfilled.

Pretti’s death followed another fatal shooting by ICE agents in Minneapolis, where poet Renee Good was killed. Minnesota officials announced they finally obtained body camera footage and other evidence from both incidents after federal law enforcement officials delayed cooperation with their investigation.

On Monday, an ICE agent fatally shot Joan Sebastian Guerrero, a 26-year-old Colombian national with U.S. work authorization and a Social Security number. He leaves behind a partner and a 3-year-old daughter.

Collins described Guerrero’s death as “a horrible tragedy.”

“We don’t have all the facts yet, and that’s why the investigation, which is being conducted by the state attorney general’s office, by the FBI, and by the independent Office of Inspector General out of Boston, is so important,” she said. “But it’s always a tragedy when someone is killed.”