Story perspectives

ICE awards $16.7M no-bid contract for shock gloves

8/28/2026

Center

ICE Purchases Shock Gloves

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract to Compliant Technologies for 6,000 electric-shock gloves.
Homeland Security defended the purchase, labeling critics’ concerns as “despicable” and arguing the gloves provide a safer alternative to more severe force.
The G.L.O.V.E. gloves (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters) shock only when activated on skin.
ICE documents say the gloves will be used in arrests, transports and civil disturbances.

Left

ICE Buys Shockgloves

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract to Compliant Technologies for 6,000 electric-shock gloves.
Civil-rights groups and fifteen Democratic senators warned the gloves could be misused, citing ICE’s history of shootings and deaths in custody.
ICE described the gloves as de-escalation tools intended to replace firearms in high-tension arrests.
The agency said use requires approved policy, training and accountability standards, yet provided no details.

Blindspot

The Department of Homeland Security defended the $16.7 million glove purchase, calling criticism “despicable” and saying the devices give officers a safer alternative to more severe force.
Within this story's sources, this angle appears mainly in Center-leaning coverage and receives less attention in Left-leaning coverage.

History

Historical Context

When Taser International launched its first conducted-energy weapon in 1993, the device sparked nationwide controversy and prompted the 2003 federal non-lethal force guidelines. Now, ICE’s 2024 $16.7 million purchase of 6,000 G.L.O.V.E. gloves faces lawsuits from the ACLU and criticism from Senators Chris Coons and Elizabeth Warren, echoing the earlier Taser backlash and raises questions about future DHS policy.

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ICE Purchases Shock Gloves

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract to Compliant Technologies for 6,000 electric-shock gloves.
Homeland Security defended the purchase, labeling critics’ concerns as “despicable” and arguing the gloves provide a safer alternative to more severe force.
The G.L.O.V.E. gloves (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters) shock only when activated on skin.
ICE documents say the gloves will be used in arrests, transports and civil disturbances.

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