The Federal Law Enforcement Standards and Accountability (FLESA) Act would establish clear, enforceable minimum standards for federal law enforcement hiring, training, and suitability assessments for federal law enforcement personnel. The Federal Officer Camera Usage for Safety (FOCUS) Act would require all federal law enforcement officers to wear BWCs during official duties, increasing transparency and accountability.

“The killing of Renee Nicole Good, an American citizen and mother of three, by an ICE agent was a reckless and avoidable tragedy that should never have happened. We must rein in federal law enforcement and mandate accountability mechanisms to prevent another horrible tragedy,” said Senator Booker. “As a mayor who has overseen a police department of over a thousand officers, I know there are commonsense, effective policies that improve public safety and build trust between law enforcement and the communities they serve. State and local law enforcement agencies around the country currently require officers to wear body cameras and rigorous training and hiring standards because those policies actually keep Americans safe. Instead of adopting best practices from around the country, Donald Trump’s DHS is using millions of taxpayer dollars on ads that glorify violence, hiring unqualified candidates, and rushing them onto the streets without adequate training. If left unchecked, the erosion of standards for federal law enforcement hiring will continue to put Americans and law enforcement officers in grave danger. This Administration has an obligation to prioritize public safety and uphold the Constitution—and Congress must act now to exercise our duty of oversight and accountability in order to prevent another senseless tragedy.”

The Federal Law Enforcement Standards and Accountability Act (FLESA Act) would address these failures by establishing clear, enforceable minimum standards for federal law enforcement hiring, training, and suitability. Specifically, the bill would:

1. Establish minimum training standards for federal law enforcement officers to promote consistency, professionalism, and constitutional compliance across all federal agencies operating nationwide.
2. Prohibit accelerated or abbreviated training programs, ensuring that federal law enforcement officers receive comprehensive preparation before being entrusted with the authority to use force, including lethal force.
3. Set minimum hiring standards for federal law enforcement officers to ensure all candidates possess the qualifications, maturity, fitness, and professionalism required to serve the public with integrity.
4. Prohibit conditional or provisional appointments that allow individuals to perform federal law enforcement duties before completing all required background checks, hiring requirements, and pre-employment training.
5. Limit eligibility for individuals with certain prior criminal convictions and prohibit the restoration of eligibility through pardons or expungements.
6. Prohibit the hiring of individuals affiliated with hate groups, affirming that federal law enforcement must be free from extremism and bias.
7. Create disciplinary consequences for agency officials who violate the law by deploying officers without the required qualifications or training.
8. Reestablish the Department of Justice’s National Law Enforcement Accountability Database (NLEAD) to ensure federal agencies have access to complete, reliable misconduct and employment records and to prevent the rehiring of individuals unfit for federal law enforcement service.
9. Authorize states to bring civil actions against federal agencies whose violations of the law pose an imminent and substantial risk to public safety or constitutional rights.
10. Require all currently employed federal law enforcement officers to meet the Act’s hiring and training standards, including those hired prior to the law’s enactment.

The Federal Officer Camera Usage for Safety Act (FOCUS Act) would:

1. Require all federal law enforcement officers to wear body-worn cameras during all public-facing immigration enforcement actions.
2. Mandate the preservation of recorded footage, with extended retention periods for recordings involving a use of force incident, a criminal arrest, a misconduct complaint, an officer’s or subject’s request for preservation, or training purposes.
3. Establish disciplinary actions for failure to comply with agency body-worn camera policies.
4. Require an annual report to Congress detailing instances of noncompliance with body-worn camera policies and any resulting disciplinary actions.
5. Require DHS to make these annual reports publicly available on its website to ensure accountability and transparency.
6. Create an independent advisory panel of subject-matter experts to review and recommend improvements to BWC policies and implementation.

BACKGROUND:

• In just a year, the Department of Homeland Security has hired more than 12,000 law enforcement officers–a staggering 120 percent increase –to carry out a mass deportation campaign. This hiring surge is driven by the administration-imposed quota of 3,000 arrests per day, a policy that has fueled indiscriminate enforcement actions overwhelmingly targeting immigrants with no criminal record.
• This unprecedented expansion of federal law enforcement has come at a real and devastating cost to public safety. On January 7, 2026, a federal law enforcement officer shot and killed Renee Nicole Good, a 37-year-old American citizen and mother of three, in Minneapolis. Her death was not an isolated incident. Since the Trump administration intensified immigration enforcement, federal officers have fatally shot at least three other people in just the past five months, according to news reports.
• In August, Secretary Noem announced plans to eliminate age restrictions for ICE agents, lowering the minimum age to just 18. At the same time, training requirements have been dramatically reduced. Where ICE officers once received nearly five months of training, reports now indicate they receive only 47 days–a number chosen for its symbolic link to President Trump being the 47th president, rather than any legitimate law enforcement benchmark. Abbreviated and inadequate training undermines lawful enforcement, increases the risk of constitutional violations, and places civilians and officers alike in danger.
• With the planned hiring of 10,000 new ICE officers and an intensified focus on immigration detention, equipping every officer with BWCs is essential to protect the public and preserve civil liberties. Without meaningful accountability measures incidents of immigration officers using unnecessary force and aggressive tactics against the public will only increase as the workforce expands. BWCs promote accountability, reduce harmful interactions, and protect both the public and officers, restoring legitimacy to immigration enforcement while ensuring that the rapid expansion of the federal law enforcement workforce does not come at the expense of constitutional protections.

In July 2025, Senators Booker and Padilla introduced the Visible Identification Standards for Immigration-Based Law Enforcement (VISIBLE) Act of 2025, legislation to require immigration enforcement officers to display clearly visible identification during public-facing enforcement actions.

In November 2025, Senators Booker and Alex Padilla (D-CA), members of the Senate Judiciary Committee,  sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Kristi Noem, Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director Todd Lyons, and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Commissioner Rodney Scott requesting answers on the hiring standards and training protocols for newly hired ICE agents. The senators wrote that by lowering hiring and training standards for new federal agents, the Administration has already compromised the integrity, professionalism, or operational readiness of the federal immigration law enforcement workforce. To rebuild the public’s trust and ensure integrity in law enforcement, it is critical that DHS provide answers to the American public about its changes to hiring and training policies.

In December 2025, Senator Booker cosponsored the Accountability for Federal Law Enforcement Act to allow individuals, regardless of citizenship, the right to sue federal law enforcement officers and agencies in civil court for violations of their civil and constitutional rights.

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