Border Patrol agent recorded raid with Meta's Ray-Bans

Hey there. We've got new photos and videos showing a Border Patrol agent using Meta's Ray-Ban smart glasses during an immigration raid. When we've covered CBP's use of the tech before, the recording light on the glasses was not on. That's different this time: the glasses are clearly in use. This matters because DHS bans employees from using personal recording devices. So, where is this footage going and why are individual agents recording? Read below.

On a recent immigration raid, a Border Patrol agent wore a pair of Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses, with the privacy light clearly on signaling he was recording the encounter, which agents are not permitted to do, according to photos and videos of the incident shared with 404 Media.

Previously when 404 Media covered Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) officials’ use of Meta’s Ray-Bans, it wasn’t clear if the officials were using them to record raids because the recording lights were not on in any of the photos seen by 404 Media. In the new material from Charlotte, North Carolina, during the recent wave of immigration enforcement, the recording light is visibly illuminated.

That is significant because CBP says it does not allow employees to use personal recording devices. CBP told 404 Media it does not have an arrangement with Meta, indicating this official was wearing personally-sourced glasses.

An activist in Charlotte provided the photos and videos to 404 Media. 404 Media granted them anonymity to protect them from retaliation.

They said the encounter happened at a busy intersection surrounded by a forest where a flower seller usually sets up shop. “By the time we showed up, the flower vendor had apparently seen Border Patrol agents approaching, and he ran into the woods,” the activist said. “They then deployed agents that were wearing these bucket hats into the woods.”

Image: 404 Media.

One of those agents was wearing the Meta Ray-Ban glasses, the material shows.

When we initially wrote about CBP agents wearing Meta Ray-Bans in Los Angeles, privacy experts told 404 Media that Department of Homeland Security (DHS) policies ban agents from wearing personal recording devices and also explicitly ban agents from taking their own recordings.

CBP’s policy on recording devices states that “no personally owned devices may be used in lieu of IDVRS [Incident Driven Video Recording Systems] to record law enforcement encounters.” It adds that “recorded data shall not be downloaded or recorded for personal use or posted onto a personally owned device.” The broader DHS policy says that “the use of personally owned [Body Worn Cameras] or other video, audio, or digital recording devices to record official law enforcement activities is prohibited.”

In a statement to 404 Media, a CBP spokesperson reaffirmed that the agency does not have any contract with Meta, and said that agents cannot use personal recording devices, but can bring “personally purchased sunglasses.” The statement did not say anything about what happens if the sunglasses happen to have a camera and microphone inside of them.

“CBP does not have an arrangement with Meta. The use of personal recording devices is not authorized; however, Border Patrol agents may wear personally purchased sunglasses,” the CBP spokesperson told 404 Media. “CBP utilize Go Pros mounted to helmets or body armor at times, as well as traditional DSLR handheld cameras.” 

Meta did not respond to a request for comment.

In November, DHS launched an operation it called “Charlotte’s Web,” focused on the North Carolina city. In its announcement, DHS pointed to several criminals it said it detained. Data recently obtained by the CATO Institute showed that 73 percent of people detained by ICE since October had no criminal convictions, and five percent had a violent criminal conviction.