Journalist Ken Klippenstein reported that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is reportedly developing smart glasses that could be used to gather intelligence about immigrants and US citizens. According to budget documents seen by Klippenstein, the devices will help ICE agents remotely identify “illegal aliens” by capturing video and comparing it to biometric data such as facial recognition and walking gait. DHS wants to deploy “ICE Glasses” by September 2027.
“The project will provide innovative hardware, such as operational prototypes of smart glasses, to equip agents in the field with real-time access to information and biometric identification capabilities,” the document states. The glasses could allow agents to compare observed subjects against existing biometric databases and identify them in real time during a conversation.
Such tools could help make surveillance of US residents “ubiquitous,” according to the report. “This could be portrayed as trying to identify illegal aliens on the streets, but the reality is that a push in this direction hurts all Americans, especially protesters,” a DHS attorney told Klippenstein, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The deployment of such tools is worrisome to civil liberties groups, especially in light of recent law enforcement activities under the Trump administration. As with the previous Klippenstein investigation, the FBI was reportedly directed by the Justice Department to “compile a list of groups or entities that demonstrate “anti-Americanism”.
This isn’t the first time that smart glasses have come up in reports about DHS. an investigation by Independent Last month it was found that ICE and Border Patrol agents in six states were using Meta’s AI smart glasses on their own volition, in possible violation of DHS rules. Congress has reportedly been informed about DHS’s Ice Glasses project but has yet to comment publicly.
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