Contracting documents posted online by the federal government are offering new details about how Immigration and Customs Enforcement intends to begin using four-legged robots that resemble dogs.
The records show ICE has obligated $1.3 million to a Connecticut-based company to purchase four of the robots and accessories within the next six months.
The package includes cameras, sensors to detect radiation and toxic gas, and a five-foot arm attachment that will be able “to see on top of closets, bunk beds, and some crawl spaces,” according to a document from ICE’s Office of Acquisition Management.
The robots, named Spot by manufacturer Boston Dynamics, will be able to investigate illicit tunnels found at the southwest border and other dangerous environments that may pose a safety threat to humans, the ICE records state.
The contract is with Radeco Inc., a company in Fairfield, Ct., with dozens of government deals in the past.
Radeco sold at least one robot dog to the U.S. Air Force in 2022.
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The robots have been widely used by local law enforcement agencies as well as the U.S. military and Secret Service.
ICE’s plan to use the robots has alarmed privacy advocates who see the potential for misuse.
"Privacy is certainly a key concern, as well as how these technologies will contribute to the terror that immigrant communities are facing,” said Will Owen, communications director for the Surveillance Technology Oversight Project.
"I fear that these will be showing up at protests more and more,” Owen said.
DHS says the robot “simply provides another option to help protect officers and the communities they serve.”
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In a statement to Scripps News, a Boston Dynamics spokesperson said its terms make it unlawful to use the robots for “harm or intimidation.”
"Any suggestion that these robots will be used to support immigrant detentions or deportations is false,” the statement said.
A gush of new funding from Congress has enabled ICE to purchase new tools and technology in 2026, including a device able to capture the back wheel of a fleeing car, and low voltage electric shock gloves for agents to wear during arrests.
ICE has not said when and where those devices and the robots will be deployed, or what type of training agents will receive before using them.
