U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is moving forward with a plan to acquire specialized electric shock gloves for frontline personnel, a procurement that has triggered sharp criticism from civil rights advocates over concerns about increased use of force and reduced accountability. According to a public notice filed by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) earlier this week, the agency is prepared to spend up to $20 million to procure the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, more commonly known as the GLOVE device, produced by private manufacturer Compliant Technologies LLC.
Each glove is capable of delivering a maximum electric shock of 380 volts — around three times the voltage carried by a standard residential power outlet in the U.S. The device is activated via a simple push-button trigger that can deliver up to 30 electric pulses per second, and includes an integrated microchip that logs every time the glove is activated. Manufacturer documentation confirms the device requires direct or near-direct contact with a subject’s skin to operate, though it remains functional through thin layers of clothing when wet.
In its official guidance for the product, Compliant Technologies explicitly recommends against using the GLOVE on vulnerable groups including the elderly, young children, pregnant people, and individuals with severe disabilities. The manual also requires that a second officer be present to assist with restraining a subject during device use, mandates that all users complete formal training and recertification every two years, and emphasizes that the device is designed only to supplement, not replace, existing law enforcement weapons and tactical tools.
DHS officials confirmed in a statement that the shock gloves will be distributed to two core ICE divisions: Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), which focuses on disrupting transnational criminal networks, and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the unit responsible for arresting, detaining, and deporting individuals found to be in violation of U.S. immigration law. While a small number of other domestic law enforcement agencies have already adopted the GLOVE device, industry observers note that ICE’s planned procurement would be the single largest order the manufacturer has received to date. A no-bid contract for the purchase could be finalized and published as early as this Friday, per DHS timelines. Compliant Technologies has declined to comment on the pending sale when contacted by media outlets.
In a statement defending the procurement, DHS emphasized that ICE regularly evaluates the operational needs of frontline officers to ensure personnel have access to the tools required to safely carry out enforcement actions against unauthorized immigrants with criminal histories. All new technologies adopted by the agency, the statement added, undergo rigorous review to ensure compliance with all existing law enforcement policies and national use-of-force standards.
But civil rights organizations, including the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have raised urgent alarms over the new equipment, arguing that it expands ICE’s already controversial use of force at a time when the agency is facing intense scrutiny over a series of fatal incidents during immigration operations. Recent high-profile deaths include the fatal shooting of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a Texas enforcement action, and the killing of Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine during a separate operation. ICE has also faced ongoing pressure to meet aggressive daily arrest targets set as part of the Trump administration’s broader immigration deportation agenda.
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, deputy director for policing policy at the ACLU, warned that the small, concealable design of the gloves creates a dangerous lack of transparency. By allowing officers to deliver painful electric shocks via a discrete handheld trigger that can go unseen by bystanders or observers, Borchetta argued the device creates conditions for increased harm to both citizens and noncitizens, while eroding mechanisms to hold officers accountable for excessive force. “Giving immigration agents a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability,” she said.