U.S. border patrol officials announced Thursday that the agency will continue to test and review a body camera program before the devices are distributed to their agents.

The commissioner of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) released a statement saying that after a yearlong study, the department has found that body cameras would be a benefit to their agency. However, the agency needs to do more research in order to see how the devices would be best incorporated.

"I'm directing, as a result of the feasibility study given to me, to expand camera review, including operations such as checkpoints, vessel boarding and interdictions, training academies, and outbound operations at ports of entry, as well as mobile camera options," CBP Commissioner R. Gil Kerlikowske told BuzzFeed.

Before the program is implemented, Kerlikowske said officials must first develop a plan for video data storage, training, questions on privacy, and funding options. The CBP must also take up the issue with labor unions and find cameras durable enough to endure extreme temperatures.

In addition, Kerlikowske expressed concern that the cameras could potentially distract agents in the field who may worry about facing public criticism for their actions.

"The [body-worn cameras] increase the cognitive load experienced by agents, causing them to redirect their attention towards the operation of the camera versus allowing them to focus on the encounter,'' the CBP report warns. Body-worn cameras "may also cause an agent to second-guess a course of action," it states.

The next phase of research is not expected to conclude until sometime between January and March of next year.

The announcement came a week after the nation's largest law enforcement agency released a report saying it had decided to implement a body camera program.

"We are not opposed to cameras, we have thousands of cameras in use," Kerlikowske said. "We saw may positive aspects of cameras and we will continue to move forward on all fronts."

Following the announcement, Jacinta Ma, Director of Policy and Advocacy at the National Immigration Forum, applauded the agency for moving forward with body-worn cameras, but demanded a faster implementation.

“The benefits of body-worn cameras are clear. As the largest federal law enforcement agency in the country, CBP must move with greater urgency to implement them because the agency impacts so many lives," she said in a statement. "While CBP’s acknowledgment of the benefits of camera technology and decision to expand its review is a good step, the process needs to move much more quickly. As CBP develops its policy regarding body-worn camera deployment, it must act with transparency by developing those policies with robust public input.”

Likewise, Vicki Gaubeca, the director of the ACLU of New Mexico Regional Center for Border Right, issued a statement, saying, "Every day CBP drags its feet, they enable Border Patrol agents to abuse their power, profile residents, and kill unarmed civilians in incidents that to date have been shrouded in secrecy and offend American values of equality and justice."