US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to outfit its officers with specialised gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks, with plans to spend up to $20 million on thousands of the devices by March, according to a notice published by the Department of Homeland Security.
The gloves, known as the G.L.O.V.E. — Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter — are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC, based in Lexington, Kentucky. A DHS procurement notice indicated that a no-bid contract solicitation could be published as early as last Friday, with the devices described officially as "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices."
How the Electric Shock Gloves Work
According to the manufacturer, the G.L.O.V.E. functions as a standard patrol glove under normal conditions. Officers activate the electrical mode via a switch, and the gloves must make direct contact with a person's skin to deliver what the company describes as a pain stimulus designed to achieve compliance within seconds.
John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, who has studied how the device has been deployed, described the sensation as comparable to a bee sting — immediate and sharp. He said the tool could be particularly valuable in situations where officers need to remove uncooperative individuals from vehicles, residences or detention facilities.
"For smaller officers or weaker officers or older officers, I think it has a great advantage," Peters said, adding that the technology can produce faster takedowns and shorten physical confrontations. He also noted that ICE's planned purchase would likely be the largest in the company's history.
Compliant Technologies warns that the device should not be used as punishment and must not be deployed against people displaying only verbal non-compliance. The manufacturer also cautions against use on high-risk groups, including children, pregnant women, elderly people and those with disabilities.
Civil Rights Groups Sound the Alarm
The announcement has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties advocates, who argue that ICE already operates with insufficient oversight during President Donald Trump's broad immigration enforcement campaign.
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing at the American Civil Liberties Union, questioned the necessity of such devices for civil immigration enforcement and raised concerns that individuals could be shocked without any prior warning.
"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."
Borchetta said the public should have no confidence that the devices would be used appropriately, given the agency's track record.
Existing Use in Jails and Policing
The G.L.O.V.E. is not an entirely new product — some jails and police departments have already adopted it in recent years. Supporters argue its application is typically limited to specific custody and transport situations, rather than general street patrol use. Reported use cases include subduing violent individuals refusing to enter police vehicles and managing inmates who pose a danger to themselves or others.
The scale of the planned ICE rollout, however, would represent a significant expansion of the technology's reach across US law enforcement. The DHS had not provided public comment on the matter at the time of writing, while the manufacturer's chief executive also declined to speak on the subject.
The move is the latest development in the Trump administration's intensified immigration enforcement push, which has already attracted scrutiny over the conduct of officers in the field. As debates over use-of-force incidents involving officers continue globally, the introduction of wearable electric shock devices into ICE's arsenal is expected to face sustained legal and political pressure.
