S.Amdt. 4270

SA 4270. Mr. BENNET submitted an amendment intended to be proposed by
him to the bill H.R. 7148, making further consolidated appropriations
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2026, and for other purposes;
which was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

On page 1176, after line 17, add the following:
Sec. 239. (a) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall
ensure each immigration enforcement officer or agent who
interacts with members of the public is equipped with a body-
worn camera.
(b) Except as provided under subsections (c) and (d), an
immigration enforcement officer or agent shall wear and
activate a body-worn camera, or a dash camera if the
officer's vehicle is equipped with such a camera, while--
(1) responding to a call for service;
(2) entering any premises for the purpose of enforcing the
law or investigating possible violations of law;
(3) conducting a welfare check, except for motorist
assistance; or
(4) engaging in any interaction with a member of the public
initiated by the officer or agent, whether consensual or
nonconsensual, for the purpose of enforcing the law or
investigating possible violations of law.
(c)(1) A camera need not be activated while an immigration
enforcement officer or agent en route to a call for service,
but shall be activated shortly before the officer or agent
arrives at the scene.
(2) An officer or agent working in an undercover capacity
is not required to wear or activate a body-worn camera.
(d) An immigration enforcement officer or agent may
deactivate a body-worn camera--
(1) to avoid recording personal information that is not
related to an immigration case;
(2) while working on an unrelated assignment;
(3) during a prolonged break in an incident; or
(4) during administrative, tactical, or management
discussions when members of the public are not present.
(e)(1) If an immigration enforcement officer or agent fails
to activate a body-worn or dash camera as required under this
section, or tampers with camera footage or operation when
activation is required--
(A) there shall be a permissive inference, in any
investigation or legal proceeding other than a criminal
prosecution of the officer or agent, that the missing footage
would have reflected misconduct; and
(B) any statements or conduct offered through the officer
or agent that were not recorded and not otherwise documented
shall be subject to a rebuttable presumption of
inadmissibility.
(2) This subsection shall not apply if--
(A) a body-worn camera or dash camera malfunctions;
(B) the officer or agent to whom the camera was assigned
was unaware of the malfunction or unable to correct it prior
to the incident; and
(C) the records of the agency demonstrate that the officer
or agent checked the camera's functionality at the beginning
of his or her shift.
(f) In addition to any criminal liability--
(1) if an adjudicative body or final agency determination
finds that an officer or agent intentionally failed to
activate or tampered with a camera, the employing agency
shall impose discipline upon the officer or agent, up to and
including termination, consistent with applicable law;
(2) if the conduct of the officer or agent was undertaken
with the intent to conceal unlawful or inappropriate actions
or obstruct justice, the officer's or agent's certification
or authority to perform enforcement duties shall be suspended
for not less than 1 year, subject to reinstatement only upon
exoneration; and
(3) if such conduct occurred in an incident resulting in
the death or serious bodily injury of a civilian, the
officer's or agent's certification or authority to perform
enforcement duties shall be permanently revoked, subject to
reinstatement only upon exoneration.
(g) The Secretary of Homeland Security shall establish and
follow a retention schedule for body-worn and dash-camera
recordings in accordance with applicable records management
requirements.
(h) Not later than 21 days after receiving a complaint
alleging misconduct by an immigration enforcement officer or
agent, the Department of Homeland Security shall release all
unedited audio and video recordings of the incident to the
public, subject to privacy protections and delayed release
provisions under subsection (i).
(i)(1) Recordings depicting death shall be made available
to a victim's immediate family or lawful representative
before being publicly released.
(2)(A) Recordings implicating substantial privacy interests
may be blurred to protect such interests without removing any
portion of the recording.
(B) If blurring a recording is insufficient--
(i) the recording shall be released to affected individuals
or their lawful representatives; and
(ii) the Department of Homeland Security shall notify
affected persons of their right to waive the restrictions
under this subsection.
(3) A recording of alleged misconduct may be temporarily
withheld if the release of such recording would substantially
interfere with an ongoing investigation. Such recording shall
be publicly released not later than 45 days after the
allegation of misconduct, accompanied by a written
justification for the delay.
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