ICE Plans Electric-Shock Gloves for Officers Amid Use-of-Force Concerns

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing to equip some of its officers with gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks to people who resist arrest or detention, according to an Associated Press investigation.

The planned purchase could cost the agency up to $20 million and involve thousands of devices known as the G.L.O.V.E. — Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. The equipment is manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based company that markets the gloves as a law-enforcement and corrections tool.

The gloves look similar to ordinary tactical gloves but can be activated through a switch, allowing an officer to deliver an electrical pulse when the glove makes direct contact with a person’s skin. The manufacturer describes the technology as a “conductive distraction and de-escalation device” intended to help officers gain compliance during physical confrontations.

The Department of Homeland Security reportedly issued a notice seeking thousands of the devices, with the equipment potentially being deployed by March. The proposed procurement could be carried out through a no-bid contract, according to the AP report.

The proposed deployment has immediately raised concerns among civil rights advocates, particularly because ICE has faced increasing scrutiny over its use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

The American Civil Liberties Union has questioned whether introducing a device capable of delivering pain at close range could increase the potential for abuse, particularly in situations where officers have significant discretion over the use of force.

The concerns come against the backdrop of existing legal challenges involving ICE’s treatment of immigrants and detainees. In May, legal organizations sued ICE over conditions at Camp East Montana, an immigration detention facility at Fort Bliss in Texas, alleging violence, medical neglect and other rights violations.

The company behind the gloves presents them differently, describing the G.L.O.V.E. as a less-lethal device intended to help officers control combative individuals without resorting to more serious forms of force.

The manufacturer says the gloves are designed for trained law-enforcement, corrections, security, military and emergency-service personnel. Its product information says the device can be activated within about one second through a switch on the glove.

The company also says officers should not use the technology as punishment or against vulnerable people. Training and proper use-of-force procedures are therefore expected to be central to any deployment.

Unlike conventional restraints, the gloves allow an officer to apply an electrical shock through physical contact, meaning the device can potentially be used at very close range and without the obvious visual presence associated with some other less-lethal weapons.

Critics argue that this raises questions about when an officer would be permitted to activate the device, what level of resistance would justify its use, and how incidents would be documented and reviewed.

ICE’s planned acquisition is therefore likely to intensify an already heated debate over the powers given to immigration officers as the U.S. government expands immigration enforcement.

For now, the reported plan remains a procurement proposal rather than evidence that every ICE officer will immediately receive the gloves. The Department of Homeland Security was reviewing questions about the proposed purchase when the AP report was published.