US Immigration and Customs Enforcement is moving to equip its officers with specialised gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks, with the agency planning to spend up to $20 million on thousands of the devices ahead of a March deadline. A notice published by the Department of Homeland Security confirmed the procurement plan, which has already drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties groups.
What Are the Electric Shock Gloves?
The devices are officially known as the G.L.O.V.E. — short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter — and are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC, based in Lexington, Kentucky. According to the company, the gloves function as ordinary patrol gloves under normal conditions. When an officer activates an electrical mode via a switch, the gloves can deliver a pain stimulus directly to a person's skin, with compliance typically achieved within seconds.
The manufacturer describes the sensation as immediate and sharp — comparable to a bee sting. The devices have already been adopted by some jails and police departments in recent years, primarily in controlled environments such as detention facilities and during suspect transport.
Compliant Technologies has issued explicit guidance on appropriate use, warning the gloves must not be used as punishment and should not be deployed against individuals exhibiting only verbal defiance. The company also cautions against using the devices on high-risk populations, including children, pregnant women, and elderly or disabled people.
ICE's Planned Purchase Could Be the Largest Yet
John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, who has been studying how the device has been used in the field, described the planned ICE acquisition as likely the largest single purchase from Compliant Technologies to date. He said the gloves could prove especially useful when officers need to remove uncooperative individuals from vehicles or residences, and during movements in and out of detention facilities.
"For smaller officers or weaker officers or older officers, I think it has a great advantage," Peters said, noting that the technology can produce faster takedowns and shorten physical confrontations overall.
DHS indicated it was preparing a response to inquiries about the procurement but offered no immediate public comment. The company's founder and chief executive, Jeff Niklaus, also declined to discuss the matter. A notice indicated that a no-bid contract solicitation could be published as early as this Friday.
Civil Rights Groups Raise Alarm Over Use of Force Concerns
The announcement has alarmed civil liberties advocates, who argue ICE already operates with insufficient oversight in its use of force — particularly amid an aggressive immigration enforcement push under the Trump administration. Questions have also been raised about whether such devices are appropriate at all in the context of civil immigration enforcement, as opposed to criminal policing.
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy project director on policing at the American Civil Liberties Union, raised concerns about how easily the devices could be activated without bystanders noticing. "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."
Supporters of the technology counter that the gloves have historically been used in specific, controlled jail and transport situations rather than as general street patrol tools, and that they have helped subdue violent suspects and protect officers from harm.
What Happens Next
The solicitation for the no-bid contract is expected to be published imminently, with ICE aiming to have the gloves in officers' hands by March. The scale of the rollout — potentially covering thousands of officers and agents — raises significant questions about training, oversight mechanisms, and how use-of-force incidents will be documented and reviewed. As debate over police use of force continues globally, the ICE glove procurement is set to intensify scrutiny of law enforcement accountability in the United States.
