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By Sam Stevenson
Associate News Editor
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A new Democratic bill would force Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers to wear a "clearly visible, scannable QR code" during arrests and enforcement operations.
Newsweek contacted the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) via email for comment.
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin previously told Newsweek: "We aren’t going anywhere. President Donald Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and Secretary Noem is delivering."
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Why It Matters
This new proposal arrives at a moment of intense scrutiny over federal immigration enforcement, with protests erupting in cities nationwide, including in Minneapolis, where a 37-year-old woman, Renee Nicole Good, was fatally shot by an ICE agent during an operation that has fueled calls for greater transparency.
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What To Know
On Thursday, a trio of Democratic lawmakers, led by Representative Ritchie Torres of New York, introduced a proposal to Congress that would require ICE and CBP agents "engaged in law enforcement or immigration enforcement activities to wear a clearly visible and scannable QR code."
The measure, H.R. 7233, dubbed the Quick Recognition Act, is in its earliest legislative stage and awaits committee consideration.
It has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary and the Committee on Homeland Security, "for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker," according to the Congress website.
"This legislation would modernize identification standards for federal immigration enforcement officers and improve transparency during enforcement encounters," Torres’s office said in a press release, as reported by FedScoop.
Torres, who was elected to Congress in 2021, added: "There is an urgent need to unmask ICE not only physically but digitally. So I have legislation that would require ICE agents to wear uniforms that contain QR codes, which can be scanned by members of the public."
Democratic Representative Darren Soto of Florida has joined Torres’s bill as a co-sponsor alongside Democratic Representative Shri Thanedar of Michigan, who has separately launched his own campaign to abolish ICE entirely.
That bill, the Abolish ICE Act (H.R. 7123), would dissolve the agency within 90 days of enactment and rescind its federal funding.
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The Good shooting, along with another high‑profile shooting of a Venezuelan man days later, has become a political flashpoint, sparking continuous demonstrations in Minneapolis and at state capitols across the country.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey warned that the situation was "not sustainable," while DHS officials have defended ICE’s actions as necessary for public safety.
The new QR‑code bill lands in the middle of an already raw Democratic split over ICE funding and oversight.
Just this week, seven House Democrats—Tom Suozzi (New York), Henry Cuellar (Texas), Don Davis (North Carolina), Laura Gillen (New York), Jared Golden (Maine), Vicente Gonzalez (Texas) and Marie Gluesenkamp Perez (Washington)—faced sharp backlash from within their party after joining Republicans to advance a DHS spending bill that includes roughly $10 billion for ICE.
Those Democrats argued they were voting to keep FEMA, TSA and other essential homeland security operations funded—not to expand ICE enforcement—while expressing concern that letting DHS appropriations lapse would harm disaster response and airport security.
Concerns about ICE enforcement are reflected in national polling figures, with a YouGov snap poll of 2,686 U.S. adults conducted the same day as the Good shooting finding that 52 percent of Americans disapproved of how ICE was handling its job, while only 39 percent approved.
Most respondents—51 percent—said ICE’s tactics were "too forceful." Support for abolishing ICE has also risen sharply, from 19 percent in 2024 to 43 percent this month, according to Civiqs data.
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What People Are Saying
ICE CIO Dustin Goetz said Thursday at a Washington, D.C. event on Thursday: "When we talk about the future of ICE and how we’re going to do business, it’s inevitably going to go back to how we’re standardizing data, how we’re consuming it and advertising the data."
Torres said: "Keep in mind, officers have a responsibility to identify themselves to the public. And scanning a QR code is much safer than asking for a physical ID."
Thanedar said of his separate bill: "Since ICE’s establishment in 2003, it has prioritized aggressive enforcement and violence rather than due process. Americans are being terrorized."
DHS Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin told Newsweek in an emailed statement: "Attacks and demonization of ICE are wrong. ICE officers are now facing a 1,300 percent increase in assaults.
"Illegal aliens that ICE is deporting broke our nation’s laws. DHS is a law enforcement agency, and it will continue to carry out immigration enforcement for the safety of Americans who have been victimized by rapists, murderers, drug traffickers, and gang members.
"President Trump campaigned on immigration enforcement, the American people voted for it, and Secretary Noem is delivering.
"For illegal aliens in the country, the safest and most efficient option is self-deportation. Through the CBP Home app, illegal aliens can self-deport and receive financial and travel assistance. President Trump and Secretary Noem have a clear message to illegal aliens: LEAVE NOW."
What Happens Next
H.R. 7233 has only just been introduced and must first pass through committee before any floor vote is scheduled. Its prospects remain uncertain: GovTrack gives the bill just a 2 percent chance of enactment, reflecting the partisan gridlock and the broader legislative fight over immigration and enforcement policy.
Still, the measure signals growing congressional momentum for structural reforms aimed at tightening accountability around ICE operations at a time when public confidence in the agency is at its lowest point in years.
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