ICE Wants to Buy $20 Million Worth of Electric-Shock Gloves. Here's What to Know.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, commonly known as ICE, plans to spend up to $20 million (£15 million) on thousands of gloves that can deliver an electric shock, according to The Guardian and an Associated Press report published on August 11 (Associated Press). ICE is the federal agency responsible for enforcing immigration laws inside the United States. The purchase was previewed on a government website that lists upcoming contract opportunities, and delivery is required by March 31, 2027 (Apple Valley News Now).
The gloves are made by a company called Compliant Technologies, under the product name GLOVE. They deliver an electric pulse ranging from about 210 to 362 volts, according to the manufacturer's technical information (Firstpost). For a sense of scale, a standard U.S. wall outlet carries about 120 volts, though these gloves are designed to deliver a short pulse rather than a continuous shock. The GLOVE instruction manual says the device must touch a person's skin to work, though it can also function through thin clothing if the clothing is wet. Officers must complete training and get recertified every two years. The manual says the gloves are meant to add to existing tools, not replace them (BBC).
A note from the Department of Homeland Security, the parent agency of ICE, says the gloves would go to officers in two divisions. One is Homeland Security Investigations, which goes after international criminal organizations. The other is Enforcement and Removal Operations, which handles immigration arrests, detention, and deportation (BBC). According to a statement from Peters, this would be the largest purchase Compliant Technologies has received to date (BBC). NBC News, NewsNation, and LiveNOW Fox each reported the story independently, describing the gloves as delivering a brief, painful shock meant to make uncooperative people comply (NBC News; NewsNation; LiveNOW Fox).
The official contract listing, found on the government website SAM.gov, is titled "Personal Protective Equipment Infrastructure Investment." It states that the product must be 100% made in America, including every component, in compliance with a law called the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (SAM.gov).
Civil liberties groups, which advocate for individual rights and freedoms, have responded with alarm. Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, a deputy director at the ACLU focused on policing, said the gloves would let ICE officers deliver a shock just by pressing a small button with their hand, something bystanders might not even notice. She also said ICE has shown over the past year that it is willing to disregard the law and is too quick to use force (BBC).
The purchase comes amid ongoing scrutiny of how ICE uses force during its operations. That scrutiny includes the fatal shooting of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and the killing of Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during an immigration enforcement operation in Maine (BBC).
The broader context here is a federal agency adding new tools to its arsenal at a time when its track record on force is facing serious public pressure. The gloves raise questions that are different from those around guns or Tasers, which are more visible and easier to track. A device that can deliver a shock through simple physical contact, without obvious signs that observers could spot, makes it harder to hold officers accountable after the fact. The training and recertification requirement shows the manufacturer is aware of this risk. But because the gloves would be used across two divisions with very different daily duties, the same device would show up in a wide range of situations.
The requirement that the gloves be 100% American-made ties this purchase to a broader government effort to manufacture critical equipment inside the United States rather than relying on foreign suppliers. That may limit which companies can bid on the contract, but it does not address the use-of-force concerns raised by the ACLU and other critics. Because delivery is not required until March 2027, there is still time for Congress to review the plan, for policies to be updated, or for legal challenges to be filed before the gloves reach officers' hands.
