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ICE buys shock gloves
The Department of Homeland Security plans to equip Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers with electric shock gloves known as the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or G.L.O.V.E., with the DHS note saying it will spend up to $20 million on the CTG-5 GLOVE units.
“ICE plans to spend up to $20 million on CTG-5 Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or GLOVE units.”
The gloves are described by the DHS as a "Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations officers and agents," and the devices are activated by officers pressing a button to deliver shocks when the gloves contact skin.
Rights advocates condemned the plan, with the American Civil Liberties Union saying giving immigration agents "a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability."
The purchase is tied to ICE’s enforcement posture under President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, which Reuters said has drawn nationwide protests and followed fatal shootings by ICE agents of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota earlier this year.
Outrage, lawsuits, and warnings
Democratic elected officials and civil rights advocates criticized the gloves as unnecessary and cruel, and New York Attorney General Letitia James said, "We are outraged," warning that ICE officers who misuse the gloves in her state could face criminal and civil consequences.
The Associated Press reported that ICE plans to spend between $10 million and $20 million and that the devices are marketed as “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices,” with the G.L.O.V.E. acronym standing for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter.
A pending lawsuit described in the AP alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after he was shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 more times by a Taser at a jail in Richmond, Kentucky, and court documents cited an internal investigation finding two glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds apiece.
Former ICE acting director John Sandweg warned in an interview on MS NOW that "It’s too easy for this to get misused, against a population that doesn’t pose a threat," while the DHS statement to the AP said ICE is assessing officers’ needs to ensure tools are consistent with law enforcement policies and standards.
Contract timeline and stakes
The DHS acquisition notice described by multiple outlets says the no-bid contract could be published as early as Friday and that the contract would last through March 31, 2027, while CNN reported the devices would be delivered by March 31, 2027.
“the contract would last through March 31, 2027.”
The BBC reported that ICE plans to spend up to $20m (£14.8m) to buy the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter (GLOVE), and it said the gloves can deliver up to 380 volts of electricity, roughly three times the charge of a standard US power outlet.
Civil rights groups framed the stakes as accountability and misuse, with the ACLU’s Jenn Rolnick Borchetta telling the BBC that "Giving immigration agents a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability."
In addition to the criticism, the plan is presented as part of ICE’s enforcement divisions, with the BBC saying GLOVE would be used by officers and agents in Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO), and the DHS note described the gloves as a tool for officers and agents carrying out law enforcement duties.
