ICE electric shock gloves are part of a planned Department of Homeland Security purchase worth up to $20 million, not equipment already issued across the agency. DHS says it intends to buy the devices, called Generated Low Output Voltage Emitters or G.L.O.V.Es, for Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers by the end of March 2027, according to BBC reporting and a DHS procurement notice cited by Time.
The gloves are designed to deliver an electric shock after an officer presses a button and makes contact with exposed skin. DHS says the prospective users include ICE's Homeland Security Investigations unit and Enforcement and Removal Operations, the arm that arrests, detains and removes people accused of violating immigration law.
The evidence supports a planned procurement and a stated officer-safety rationale. It does not establish the claim that ICE is buying the gloves to injure or kill migrants. DHS told the BBC it assesses field needs to give officers tools needed to make arrests and removals safely. Civil-rights advocates and former officials dispute whether this device belongs in civilian immigration enforcement at all.
What are ICE electric shock gloves, and how do they work?
The device is a contact-based pain-compliance tool. BBC reported that it can deliver up to 380 volts and as many as 30 pulses per second, and that its onboard microprocessor logs activations. The shock works only when the glove touches skin. The reported use case is that an officer could first grab clothing, then move to exposed skin such as a wrist or elbow if a person fights.
That mechanism differs from a Taser. A Taser fires barbs and creates an electrical circuit through the body; the gloves do not, according to the BBC. Margo Schlanger, a former DHS civil-rights official, told Time that the gloves are intended for pain compliance rather than incapacitation. That distinction matters: the device is meant to make a person submit through pain, not temporarily lock up muscles as a Taser can.
Compliant Technologies, the manufacturer, says its gloves do not cause injury and are used by many agencies. That is a company claim, not an independent safety finding. Its manual recommends against using the device on elderly people, small children, pregnant women and people it calls “severely handicapped.” It also recommends having another officer present to restrain the person during use, the BBC reported.
Why are advocates and former officials objecting?
Jenn Rolnick Borchetta of the American Civil Liberties Union told the BBC that a device allowing officers to inflict pain with a hand-held button could mean greater harm and less accountability, particularly because the action may be hard for bystanders to see.
John Sandweg, a former acting ICE director, told Time that the devices carry a high potential for abuse. He argued that DHS should test them through limited pilots and require substantial in-person training rather than deploy them broadly. Time also reported that DHS whistleblower documents released in February described ICE expanding hiring while dropping several screening and training protocols.
The purchase arrives amid scrutiny of federal immigration agents' use of force. Time reported that at least 10 people had died in encounters with federal agents since President Donald Trump returned to office. Those deaths are context, not evidence that the proposed gloves caused them or will cause future fatalities. The unanswered policy issue is whether DHS will pair any purchase with clear training, reporting and review requirements before the devices reach ICE personnel.
This story draws on original reporting from Techdirt.