ICE plans to use robot dogs, electrified gloves, social media tracking for immigration enforcement
CHICAGO (WLS) -- Robot dogs, already used by some law enforcement across the country, could soon be deployed by ICE agents on the streets. They can be used to search for suspects in dangerous situations, assess explosives, and more, costing taxpayers $2 million, according to federal contract records.
"I think people will be concerned if you send robotic dogs with facial recognition capabilities into crowds and have them scanning across crowds in the hopes of locating people who whose immigration status has expired. I think there's going to be real concerns about using robotic dogs to chase down suspects and to employ lethal or non-lethal force," said former Homeland Security Acting Undersecretary for Intelligence and ABC News contributor John Cohen.
He told the ABC7 I-Team as new technologies are implemented, there must be accountability.
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"The challenge facing ICE right now is that people just don't trust them. ICE specifically has to be very transparent and clear how they're going to use these new technologies," Cohen said.
A nearly $17 million government contract was just awarded for more than 6,000 electrified gloves for ICE. Those can be used to incapacitate targets.
"The question for ICE is: Are they going to use those gloves appropriately, or are they going to use them in a manner which is you know amounts to excessive force?" asks Cohen.
Since the start of the second Trump administration DHS has also made heavy investments in advanced social media monitoring tools. As the I-Team previously reported, Chicagoan Marimar Martinez was surveilled online by immigration agents, her social media post tagged as a threat days before she was shot by a federal agent in Chicago.
"When I was at the Department of Homeland Security. We needed to be able to tie that that online activity to threat-related or criminal activity. We had to be able to articulate those connections. Hopefully, that's also what the those are also the rules that ICE is operating under," Cohen told the I-Team.
DHS released statements saying robotic dogs will increase the ability to respond to incidents involving dangerous difficult-to-access areas and improve officer safety. Regarding the electrified gloves, they say officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and receive ongoing use of force training.
DHS issued the following statements:
"Robotic dogs will be used for border and infrastructure security.
"This capability helps improve officer safety, supports informed operational decision-making, and enhances DHS's ability to respond to incidents involving dangerous, confined, unstable, or difficult-to-access areas."
"ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country. Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards.
"Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training. The latest ICE use of force policy is available here.
"Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst. Since Day One, ICE law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump's promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists. Nearly 70% of ICE arrests are of dangerous illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S. While ICE law enforcement works to remove these public safety threats from American communities, they're also facing a 1,300% increase in assaults, a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats."
