ICE Plans Electric Shock Gloves for Officers
The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend up to $20 million to equip officers with gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks, according to a procurement notice published Monday by the Department of Homeland Security. The move has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties advocates who warn it could escalate the use of force in immigration enforcement.
The devices, known as the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky, and function as standard patrol gloves until officers press a switch to activate their electrical mode, NBC News reported. The gloves must be applied directly to a person’s skin to deliver a pain stimulus that typically helps an officer gain compliance within seconds, according to the company.
The Procurement
The DHS notice, identified as forecast record F2026074524, calls for the purchase of the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E. devices for Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers and agents. The estimated dollar range is $10 million to $20 million, with contract completion expected by March 31, 2027. The solicitation is listed as a no-bid contract, with an estimated release date of August 14, 2026.
The product page describes the G.L.O.V.E. as a “conductive distraction and de-escalation device” that uses CD3 technology, which the company says “leaves no burns, marks or scars.” The device can generate up to 380 volts, according to its user manual, and must make direct skin contact to be effective.
Civil Liberties Concerns
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing at the American Civil Liberties Union, voiced alarm at the plan, telling the Associated Press that the public should have no confidence ICE officers will use the devices appropriately.
“ICE spent the last year showing this country they are too quick to use force. Now they will be able to deploy electric shocks with the slight push of a button that maybe nobody else can see them do,” she said. “Introducing gloves that can so easily be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters is a recipe for harm to the public.”
The Guardian reported that the manufacturer warns the device should not be used as punishment, against people merely exhibiting “verbal defiance or belligerence,” or on high-risk populations such as children, pregnant women, or elderly and disabled people. Officers must complete a training course and be recertified every two years to use the device.
Supporters Cite De-escalation Benefits
Law enforcement officials who have used the gloves describe them as an effective non-lethal tool. John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, who is studying how the device has been used, described the shock as “like a bee sting.”
“For smaller officers or weaker officers or older officers, I think it has a great advantage because it can produce faster takedowns and shorten confrontations,” Peters said.
Chief Adam Glueck of the Cape Girardeau Police Department in Missouri, an early adopter of the technology, said the gloves have been effective in his department’s jail operations. “Usually just one application of the G.L.O.V.E. is all it takes to get an inmate to move out of a certain area,” he told the Associated Press.
Context of Escalating Scrutiny
The procurement comes at a time of intense scrutiny over ICE’s use of force during the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement campaign. The Guardian reported that at least eight people died in dealings with ICE in January 2026 alone, including the high-profile killings of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Nicole Good. At least 32 people died in ICE custody in 2025, the highest number since 2004.
More recently, agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican construction worker, during an attempted vehicle stop in Houston on July 7, and Johan Sebastian Duran Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian man, during an operation in Biddeford, Maine, on July 13. In both cases, DHS said agents opened fire after the men used or attempted to use their vehicles as weapons, a characterization disputed by relatives, witnesses, and advocates.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek that “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.” The spokesperson added that “every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed.”
An ICE spokesperson cited a 1,300 percent increase in assaults, a 3,300 percent increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats against officers as justification for enhanced tactical capabilities.
What’s Next
Several key questions remain unanswered, including how many gloves ICE intends to purchase, how officers will be trained to use them, what reporting requirements would accompany deployments, and whether the agency plans to issue additional guidance beyond the manufacturer’s recommendations. The solicitation is expected to be released as early as August 14, with delivery anticipated by March 2027.