In brief
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to buy a pair of electric‑shock gloves that can deliver up to 380 volts, costing up to $20 million. The device, produced by Compliant Technologies, will be used by ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations teams. Civil rights groups and the ACLU have warned that the gloves could increase the use of force and raise accountability concerns. Earlier in the year ICE such gloves were already used by other agencies, but this bill marks the largest order to date. The controversy follows a series of recent fatal shootings involving ICE officers and ongoing pressure to meet high arrest targets under a Trump‑era deportation agenda.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is set to buy a pair of electric‑shock gloves that can deliver up to 380 volts—about three times the charge of a standard power outlet—at a cost of up to $20 million.
The gloves, produced by Compliant Technologies LLC, are activated by a single push of a button, can deliver up to 30 pulses per second and record each use in a microprocessor. The supplier says the device is safe and “does not cause injury,” but the manufacturer’s manual cautions against using the gloves on the elderly, children, or pregnant women and recommends an extra officer to restrain the subject.
ICE’s Chief Officer Jake Hickman said the acquisition follows regular needs‑assessment reviews to keep agents equipped for “safe arrest and removal” of unlawful immigrants. The Homeland Security Department noted the gloves would be used by Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations units.
Civil‑rights advocates, notably the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), have warned that the gloves could intensify the use of force and reduce accountability. ACLU deputy director Jenn Rolnick-Borchetta called the acquisition a “recipe for more harm and less accountability.”
The controversy comes alongside a number of recent ICE‑related fatal shootings—such as the death of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine—highlighting concerns over the officers’ handling of force.
ICE officials have faced criticism for meeting high arrest targets under the Trump‑era deportation push, a policy that has prompted calls for restraint. The new gloves — If deployed — would allow agents to deliver concealed, rapid‑pulse shocks that may compel compliance with minimal visible signs.
With reporting by Max Matza.
