Donald Trump · Meta · Fortune Technology
DHS wants to build AI smart glasses using the facial recognition tech ICE agents already ‘could be’ using on Americans
Compiled by KHAO Editorial — aggregated from 3 sources. See llms.txt for citation guidance.
✓ KHAO Verified
ICE agents in at least six states have been spotted wearing Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses during enforcement operations since the start of President Donald Trump’s second term.
Key facts
- Both ICE and CBP already use Mobile Fortify, a biometric app that came with a $23.9 million price tag to taxpayers, to conduct operations in the field
- The app was even classified as “high-risk” according to the DHS’ own 2025 AI Use Case Inventory, and was initially deployed without legally required Privacy Impact Assessments
- A DHS official confirmed to 404 Media ICE is exploring glasses that would work alongside Mobile Fortify
- Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington, D.C.), introduced the ICE Out of Their Faces Act which would ban ICE and CBP from using facial recognition entirely and require deletion of all biometric data already
Summary
Now, the Department of Homeland Security wants to go further by building its own smart glasses that would let agents identify people on the street in real time using facial recognition and other biometric data. The DHS is requesting $7.5 million to “develop critical technologies, analytic tools, and data systems to strengthen DHS’ ability to encounter, transport, detain, and remove individuals who are in the U.S. unlawfully,” according to the department’s fiscal year 2027 budget justification for the Science and Technology Directorate. ICE set a target delivery date of September 2027 for the tech, but it’s not the first time the agency has received public backlash for its surveillance technologies.