U.S. Rep. Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.) has introduced a bill to restrict federal law enforcement’s deployment of military drones for the purpose of recording public demonstrations.

The bill, HR 4759, comes after reports that the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) used reconnaissance drones similar to the Predator drones used in the military to monitor recent protests against immigration enforcement operations in downtown Los Angeles.

Predator drones refer to unmanned aerial vehicles primarily used by the military for reconnaissance, surveillance, and sometimes targeted strikes.

“The U.S. government should never use military drones to spy on its own people,” Gomez said in a statement on X on July 27, adding that he introduced the Ban Military Drones Spying on Civilians Act to “get these drones out of our neighborhoods.”

The DHS drones were tracked by civilians in June by using public flight data and identifying DHS-reserved call signs.

DHS and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) use drones and other surveillance aircraft for their operations. DHS also uses airplanes and helicopters for surveillance purposes.

Gomez’s bill would limit DHS drone operations to border security and smuggling interdiction.

CBP does not use drones to monitor peaceful and lawful protests, but said it had to use drones to protect agents on the ground during the anti-ICE protests in Los Angeles.

“CBP’s Air and Marine Operations (AMO) has provided both Manned and Unmanned aerial support to federal law enforcement partners conducting operations in the Greater Los Angeles area,” a CBP spokesperson told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement on July 30. “Both platforms provide an unparalleled ability with Electro-optical/infrared sensors and video downlink capabilities that provide situational awareness and communications support that enhance officer safety.”

The bill has been referred to the Committee on the Judiciary, as well as the Committee on Armed Services. A text for the bill has not been made available as yet by the Government Publishing Office.

The demonstrations against ICE operations in Los Angeles began on June 6 and continued throughout the following week before diminishing on the 10th day.

The recent violent protests, in which cars were set ablaze, in downtown Los Angeles over ICE operations have cost the city nearly $20 million so far, the city’s accountant said on June 16.

“The estimated preliminary cost so far through June 16 is $19.7 million,” Los Angeles City Controller Kenneth Mejia said in a video breaking down the numbers.

About 87 percent of the estimated total cost relates to the Los Angeles Police Department, totalling $17.2 million, Mejia said.

President Donald Trump had ordered 4,700 federal troops to the city to protect federal property, due to “incidents of violence and disorder” that had undermined immigration enforcement actions in the city, according to a June 7 presidential memorandum.

“Violent protests threaten the security of and significant damage to Federal immigration detention facilities and other Federal property,” the White House said in the memorandum. “To the extent that protests or acts of violence directly inhibit the execution of the laws, they constitute a form of rebellion against the authority of the Government of the United States.”

Jill McLaughlin contributed to this report.