In brief
The US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency is planning to purchase shock‑delivering gloves for its officers, a move that could cost up to $20 million. The gloves can produce a 380‑volt shock, roughly three times a standard outlet, and use a microprocessor to log each activation. Civil‑rights organisations, including the ACLU, criticise the gloves as a potentially dangerous, covert source of force amid a climate of fatal shootings by ICE agents. The plan raises questions about accountability and the balance between enforcement and civil liberties.
ICE plans to equip agents with shock‑delivering gloves
+ICE is moving forward with a $20 million purchase of specialized gloves that can deliver up to 380 volts of electric shock.
+The gloves, called the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter (GLOVE), are poised to give officers a discreet, painful deterrent, according to a release from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). They feature a push‑button trigger that can fire up to 30 pulses per second and include a microprocessor to record each activation. The manufacturer, Compliant Technologies LLC, says the devices cause no injury and are already in use by some agencies, but ACLU officials warn them could be abused.
+The intended users are agents in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO). HSI targets transnational crime while ERO detains and removes immigrants alleged to violate US law. Legal‑rights groups argue that adding such force tools could tilt the scale of enforcement, especially given the high‑profile fatal shootings involving ICE officers in the last year.
+The gloves do not create a conductive path through the body; they produce a shock only when the object contacts exposed skin. Officers can use them on a suspect's wrist or elbow once resistance is broken. A user manual cautions against use on the elderly, children, pregnant women or the severely handicapped and recommends a second officer be present to restrain the subject.
+DHS officials say they are constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary while acknowledging the need for increased safety during arrest operations. The company has declined to comment on the sale and the contract may be awarded as early as Friday. Critics, like ACLU director Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, describe ICE as willing to disregard the law and use force at all costs and warn that shock gloves could enable unchecked pain. This move comes amid scrutiny of ICE’s perceived shift to a more aggressive enforcement posture following President Trump’s immigration agenda.
+Reporting by Max Matza
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