ICE to Procure Electric-Shock Gloves

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a procurement notice indicating that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) intends to spend up to $20 million to purchase thousands of “Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter” (G.L.O.V.E.) gloves for agents in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO). The devices are to be delivered by March 31, 2027 and are described as “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices” that deliver an electric shock to gain rapid compliance from resistant individuals.

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ICE’s enforcement activities have intensified under the Trump administration’s mass-deportation campaign, prompting criticism of the agency’s use-of-force tactics. Similar electric-shock gloves have been deployed in a handful of jails and police departments, including an Oklahoma County jail in 2024 and a South Carolina detention center in 2022, where two corrections officers were later charged for using the device on an inmate. The technology is marketed by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky as a “wearable de-escalation device” for law-enforcement, corrections, security, EMS and military personnel.

Newsweek

• Budget: DHS estimates a purchase cost between $10 million and $20 million.

El Pais

• Usage limits: No more than two gloves may be applied to a subject at one time; the manual advises a maximum activation time of 15 seconds.

CNN

• Training: Operators must complete a certification course and be recertified every two years.

Newsweek

• Prior incidents: In 2022, two Laurens County Detention Center corrections officers were charged with beating and shocking an inmate with a G.L.O.V.E. device.

CNN

The agency has not provided detailed guidance on specific operational scenarios. The company’s website notes that the device must make direct skin contact and does not work through clothing, hair, metal, plastic or fur. When approached for comment, the DHS spokesperson indicated the department was preparing a response to an Associated Press inquiry but offered no immediate statement.

CNN

Civil-rights groups have voiced strong opposition, arguing that the gloves could exacerbate existing concerns about ICE’s use of force and the lack of robust oversight.

El Pais

• “If the officer is getting any type of resistance from the person, this is certainly an effective tool,” — John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths

CNN

• “It’s immediate and sharp, and it will distract you. I call it like a bee sting,” — John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths

New York Post

• “We’re only grabbing enough motor units across the skin to stimulate the peripheral nervous system. Just the sensory portion of that. So, we don’t cause any injury with our device,” — Justin Morris

CNN

The DHS notice indicates that a solicitation for a no-bid contract could be published as early as Friday. Assuming the procurement proceeds, the first batch of gloves is slated for delivery by March 31, 2027, after which ICE agents would begin training and certification ahead of field deployment.

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