H.R. 5653 — Trust Through Transparency Act of 2025

This section establishes body camera requirements for covered immigration officers—defined as U.S. Customs and Border Protection or Immigration and Customs Enforcement personnel, or federally deputized individuals performing immigration enforcement functions—during public immigration enforcement functions (i.e., patrols, stops, arrests, searches, status interviews, raids, checkpoint inspections, or warrant service, excluding covert operations). It requires such officers to wear and operate body cameras and mandates retention of footage for six months (with permanent deletion thereafter unless capturing use of force, events preceding or including a criminal arrest, or a registered complaint), with at least three-year retention upon request by specified parties (e.g., recording or subject officers, superiors, footage subjects, or their guardians/next of kin) for evidentiary, exculpatory, or training purposes.

This section requires the Secretary of Homeland Security to (1) impose appropriate administrative discipline on covered immigration officers who fail to comply with section 287(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA); (2) submit annual reports, beginning one year after enactment, to the DHS Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties and relevant Senate and House Judiciary and Homeland Security committees detailing the total number of public immigration enforcement functions conducted, documented instances of noncompliance with INA §287(i), and disciplinary or remedial actions taken; (3) make those reports publicly available on the DHS website within 30 days of submission to Congress, subject to redactions by the Inspector General to protect sensitive operations, investigations, or privacy (with justifications provided); and (4) establish an independent advisory panel of experts in civil rights, privacy, technology, and law enforcement oversight to provide non-binding recommendations on body camera and recorded footage policies.