US News
ICE awards $17 million contract for electric shock gloves amid pushback from advocates and lawmakers
The agency says the devices will help de-escalate confrontations, but critics cite risks of abuse and a lack of clear deployment guidelines.
The short version
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a nearly $17 million, no-bid contract for 6,000 pairs of electric shock gloves to Compliant Technologies LLC.
- Supporters and administration officials argue the devices provide a non-lethal tool to gain compliance, while civil rights groups and Democratic lawmakers warn of abuse risks.
- The Department of Homeland Security has not yet detailed specific deployment guidelines, training rules, or oversight mechanisms for the gear.
- California lawmakers passed a bill to ban law enforcement from using the gloves, though its enforceability against federal agents remains uncertain.
Key facts
- ICE awarded a six-month, no-bid contract worth nearly $17 million to Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies LLC to purchase 6,000 pairs of Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters (G.L.O.V.E.) at $2,400 per pair.[PBS NewsHour]
- The manufacturer's manual cautions that the gloves can raise blood pressure and heart rate, may contribute to serious injury or death, and should not be used on elderly individuals, small children, pregnant women, or severely handicapped individuals.[PBS NewsHour]
- White House border czar Tom Homan defended the acquisition, describing the device as a way to gain compliance without turning directly to lethal force.[PBS NewsHour]
- Civil rights and oversight organizations, including the ACLU and the Project on Government Oversight, criticized the purchase, citing ICE's use-of-force history and accountability concerns.[PBS NewsHour]
- The California legislature passed legislation prohibiting law enforcement officers in the state from using electric shock gloves.[PBS NewsHour]
What remains uncertain
- It remains unknown what specific training protocols, oversight rules, and operational restrictions ICE and DHS will implement for field agents using the gloves.[PBS NewsHour]
- It is unclear whether California's state-level ban on shock gloves can legally restrict federal ICE agents operating within the state.[PBS NewsHour]