ICE Explores Smart Glasses to Enhance Facial Recognition Surveillance Capabilities

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is exploring the development of smart glasses designed to supplement its facial recognition Mobile Fortify application, according to a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) official. The app enables officers to scan an individual’s face to verify citizenship status.

A second source, who attended a conference where a senior ICE official discussed the plans, confirmed the details to 404 Media.

If implemented, these smart glasses would represent another technological escalation in the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign.

404 Media previously reported that ICE and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) were using the Mobile Fortify app to scan faces and instantly query government databases to determine whether to detain individuals.

Do you have information about ICE’s tools or data usage? Securely contact Joseph Cox via Signal at joseph.404 or email [email protected] using a non-work device.

ICE Officials Discuss Smart Glasses at Border Security Expo

Matthew Elliston, Assistant Director of Law Enforcement Systems Analysis at ICE, revealed the smart glasses initiative during a meeting, stating the goal was to “supplement Mobile Fortify,” the DHS official confirmed. 404 Media granted the official anonymity due to press restrictions.

Separately, at the 2026 Border Security Expo, held this week, Elliston discussed agency technology needs. Kenny Morris of the American Friends Service Committee attended the event and shared Elliston’s remarks.

When asked about technologies ICE was seeking, Elliston mentioned “wearable heads-up displays,” Morris reported.

Elliston also cited a 1,400% increase in assaults against ICE officials—a figure disputed in some press reports—and argued that smart glasses would allow officers to respond to threats hands-free.

404 Media first learned of ICE’s smart glasses plans several months ago from the DHS official, though no written documentation was available at the time.

Budget Document Confirms DHS Smart Glasses Initiative

Last month, independent journalist Ken Klippenstein published a budget document outlining DHS’s plan to “deliver innovative hardware, such as operational prototypes of smart glasses, to equip agents with real-time access to information and biometric identification capabilities in the field.”

Mobile Fortify: ICE’s Controversial Facial Recognition Tool

404 Media first exposed the existence of Mobile Fortify through leaked ICE emails. The app is installed on DHS officials’ work phones and performs facial recognition when an officer points the phone’s camera at a person.

According to user manuals, the app instantly cross-references a subject’s face against a database of 200 million images, retrieving details such as:

• Full name
• Nationality
• Date of birth
• Unique identifiers, including an “alien” number
• Whether an immigration judge has ordered their removal from the country

404 Media has documented ICE and CBP officials using the app on American streets, and reported that ICE believes individuals cannot refuse facial scans. The app has also misidentified a woman twice.

A DHS spokesperson told 404 Media in an email:

“At this time, no funds have been committed to [the smart glasses project].”