Chicago — A federal judge in Chicago has ordered Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents operating in the region to wear body cameras, citing growing concerns over the use of force during recent immigration enforcement actions.
U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued the directive on Thursday after reviewing media footage showing tear gas and aggressive tactics used against protesters in past operations under the Trump administration.
“I live in Chicago if folks haven’t noticed,” Ellis remarked in court. “And I’m not blind, right?”
Her ruling comes as community groups across Chicago have intensified efforts to monitor ICE activity. Neighborhood coalitions have filmed agents in the field and documented arrests as part of ongoing resistance to immigration crackdowns. Since September, more than 1,000 immigrants have been detained in the Chicago area alone.
Ellis expressed frustration that previous instructions may not have been fully followed. Last week, she had ordered agents involved in “Operation Midway Blitz” to display visible badges and barred the use of certain riot-control tactics on peaceful demonstrators and journalists.
“I’m having concerns about my order being followed,” Ellis said on Thursday.
She then added a new requirement: “I am adding that all agents who are operating in Operation Midway Blitz are to wear body-worn cameras, and they are to be on.”
The Justice Department pushed back through attorney Sean Skedzielewski, arguing that media coverage had been “one-sided and selectively edited” and that it would be impossible to distribute cameras immediately.
Judge Ellis acknowledged the logistical challenge but stood by her decision. “I would not be expecting agents to wear body-worn cameras they do not have,” she noted, adding that implementation details could be addressed later.
She also ordered the field director overseeing the enforcement effort to appear in court on Monday.
The move aligns with a broader shift within ICE. In 2024, the agency began rolling out approximately 1,600 body cameras for Enforcement and Removal Operations officers in cities including Baltimore, Philadelphia, Washington, Buffalo, New York and Detroit. Other Department of Homeland Security agencies, such as U.S. Customs and Border Protection, already require some personnel to wear cameras and have released footage in cases involving use of force.
Federal efforts to deploy National Guard troops in connection with immigration enforcement were halted last week by another judge, adding further scrutiny to the government’s tactics.
The new order marks a significant moment in Chicago, where resistance to ICE activity has grown steadily and accountability demands are becoming harder for federal agencies to ignore.