ICE’s Electric Shock Glove Plan Draws Outrage and Misuse Fears

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s plan to equip officers with gloves that deliver painful electric shocks has drawn widespread criticism from Democratic elected officials and civil rights advocates, who called the proposal unnecessary and cruel. The Associated Press reported that ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million to outfit officers and agents with “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices” by March 2027.

The devices, known as the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. They function as normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate the electrical mode, delivering up to 380 volts of electricity—more than three times the voltage of a standard US power outlet—directly to a person’s skin to gain compliance.

New York Leaders Vow Action

At a press conference in New York City on Wednesday, New York Attorney General Letitia James said she was “outraged” by the plan, warning that ICE officers who misuse the gloves in her state could face criminal and civil consequences. “It appears to be in violation of a number of laws including our Constitution, [and] the Administrative Procedure Act,” James said.

Governor Kathy Hochul echoed those concerns, stating that the plan “appears to me on its face to be a violation of civil rights to cause that type of physical harm to an individual regardless of what the offense may be.” Hochul noted that new state protections enacted in the May budget—which ban law enforcement from wearing masks, block ICE from entering sensitive places like schools and churches without a warrant, and restrict local cooperation with federal immigration agents—should apply to this situation.

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE’s parent agency, defended the proposal in a statement. “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 statement said, adding that officers are “highly trained in de-escalation tactics.” DHS also cited a 1,300% increase in assaults against ICE officers, a 3,300% increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000% increase in death threats.

Concerns Over Misuse and Accountability

Civil rights advocates have raised alarm about the concealed nature of the device. “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,” Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing at the ACLU, told the BBC. “Giving immigration agents a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability.”

Naureen Shah, director of policy and government affairs for immigration at the ACLU, questioned whether ICE officers have adequate training for such a device, particularly given the agency’s rapid hiring of more than 12,000 officers in less than a year. “Why would you give this kind of novel dangerous technology that’s hard to train people on to agency personnel who have a track record of abuse and even cruelty?” Shah asked in an interview with NPR.

Former ICE acting director John Sandweg echoed those concerns, saying, “It’s too easy for this to get misused, against a population that doesn’t pose a threat.” Michael Mannheimer, a law professor at Northern Kentucky University, worried that officers might skip lesser force options: “Will they jump over lesser force that could be appropriate and successful to attain compliance and instead use this first?”

A Troubling Track Record

The gloves have a documented history of misuse. A pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 more times by a Taser at a jail in Richmond, Kentucky. An internal investigation found two of the glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds apiece—far more than the manufacturer’s recommended 15-second limit. “These actions not only inflicted unnecessary pain but also heightened the risk of serious health complications,” the investigation found.

The manufacturer warns the devices should not be used against the elderly, small children, pregnant women, and the severely handicapped—populations that ICE agents routinely encounter. The user manual also warns against using the device in response to verbal defiance, or for punishment, torture, or horseplay.

The technology has been around for less than a decade and is already used in schools, hospitals, prisons, and by more than 50 police departments in about 20 states. The maker of the Taser recently phased out its drive-stun feature, a similar pain compliance tool that had been misused by some officers.

The Device’s Supporters

Supporters argue the gloves provide a non-lethal alternative to firearms. “It’s immediate and sharp, and it will distract you. I call it like a bee sting,” said John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths. “If the officer is getting any type of resistance from the person, this is certainly an effective tool.”

Kenneth Corey, a former NYPD officer who now leads the Policing Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, acknowledged the device’s power but emphasized the importance of policies. “It doesn’t matter if it’s ICE or any other agency. Any new piece of equipment that’s being introduced, you have to have strong policies that govern its use,” Corey told NPR. “And then you have to make sure that your people are being held accountable, that they’re following those policies.”

What’s Next

The DHS notice, published in the Acquisition Planning Forecast System on August 10, indicates the solicitation for a no-bid contract could be released as early as Friday, August 14. The contract would last through March 31, 2027, with an anticipated award in Q4 FY2026. The gloves would be issued to Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers and agents.

Several Democrats in Congress, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Delia Ramirez, have spoken out against the plan. “This won’t make anyone safer and in fact just gives ICE another dangerous tool to target citizens and immigrants alike,” Jayapal wrote on X.

The plan comes amid intense scrutiny of ICE’s use of force, following multiple fatal shootings by officers during enforcement operations and an ACLU report documenting widespread use of force during President Trump’s first year in office. As the solicitation date approaches, the question of whether robust policies and accountability mechanisms will accompany the gloves remains unanswered. The Compliant Technologies website states that the company’s mission is to provide “innovative, non-lethal solutions” for law enforcement, but critics argue the device’s concealed nature makes it uniquely susceptible to abuse.

With New York leaders vowing legal action and civil rights organizations raising the possibility of lawsuits, the plan is likely to face significant legal and political challenges in the coming weeks. The outcome could set a precedent for how federal agencies adopt pain-compliance technologies in immigration enforcement.