ICE Faces Backlash Over Proposed $20M Electric Shock Glove Purchase

The proposed purchase, outlined in a notice published Monday in a Department of Homeland Security database, would equip officers with the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), a glove that delivers a painful electric shock when pressed against a person's skin. The contract, expected to be a no-bid deal, could be released as early as Friday and would run through March 31, 2027.

Critics, including New York Attorney General Letitia James, have warned that the devices, which leave no marks, could be easily abused. James said at a news conference Wednesday that officers who misuse the gloves in her state could face criminal and civil consequences. The gloves have been used more often in jails than on the streets, where ICE officers have increasingly used force during arrests under President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.

The manufacturer, Compliant Technologies LLC, markets the gloves as nonlethal and safe for the heart, but a pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after being shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 times with a Taser at a jail in Richmond, Kentucky. An internal investigation found two of the glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds, far exceeding the manufacturer's recommended 15-second limit. The investigation concluded the actions 'inflicted unnecessary pain but also heightened the risk of serious health complications.'

The gloves' user manual warns against use on elderly people, small children, pregnant women, and the severely handicapped, and says they should not be used in response to verbal defiance or for punishment, torture, or horseplay. Former ICE acting director John Sandweg said Wednesday that misuse is too easy against a population that doesn't pose a threat. Several Democrats in Congress, including Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost, and Delia Ramirez, took to social media to oppose the purchase, with Jayapal saying it 'just gives ICE another dangerous tool to target citizens and immigrants alike.'

The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, issued a statement saying ICE constantly assesses the needs of its officers to ensure they have the tools necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens, and that every decision is made with careful consideration and review. The statement did not mention the gloves specifically. The maker of the Taser recently phased out a similar pain-compliance feature that had been misused, and law professor Michael Mannheimer of Northern Kentucky University questioned whether ICE agents would use the gloves disproportionately instead of lesser force.