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Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at ICE headquarters in Washington, March 2025.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem at ICE headquarters in Washington, March 2025.

U.S. Department of Homeland Security (public domain) · source

Composite story

ICE awards $16.7 million no-bid contract for electric-shock gloves

Compliant Technologies will supply 6,000 G.L.O.V.E. pairs plus support over six months, hours after Democratic senators asked ICE to cancel.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract to Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies LLC for 6,000 electric-shock gloves and support over six months. ICE calls the G.L.O.V.E. a de-escalation tool for resisting subjects during arrests, transport, and crowds; the ACLU and senators led by Catherine Cortez Masto say the devices hide pain and lack accountability.

Shared facts

ICE awarded a nearly $17 million contract for electric-shock patrol gloves.

The contract was a no-bid award.

The contract is for 6,000 pairs.

The shock is promoted as a way to gain compliance from people who are resisting.

Senators urged acting ICE Director David Venturella to reconsider the purchase.

ICE claims the gloves will help officers control resisting detainees.

The vendor is a Kentucky-based company.

ICE says it offers an alternative to a firearm in more dangerous situations.

They function as ordinary patrol gloves until a button activates electrical mode.

ICE awarded the $16.7 million no-bid contract Wednesday.

They must be applied directly to skin to produce a shock.

The contract was signed Wednesday and outlined on a federal database Thursday.

Democrats led by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto pushed back against the device.

The gloves cost about $2,500 per pair.

Compliant Technologies manufactures The G.L.O.V.E.

ICE said the gloves may be used when a person is actively or passively resisting.

The six-month deal covers the gloves, support equipment, and services.

The letter came more than three weeks after DHS published a notice intending to buy the gloves.

ICE describes them as conductive distraction and de-escalation devices.

Named uses include arrests, prisoner transfers, and disturbances at detention centers.

The senators cited misuse of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and other locations.

ICE said it currently lacks an empty-hand use-of-force device for the field.

The lawmakers wrote the letter on Thursday.

Lawmakers cited the deaths of two Minneapolis residents this year at the hands of ICE agents.

ICE has drawn scrutiny for use-of-force practices in recent months.

The lawmakers wrote that they have significant skepticism about whether the tool is needed.

Those Minneapolis deaths include Renée Good and Alex Pretti in January.

The gloves have been used primarily by state and local law enforcement.

ICE says they will be used in high-tension situations.

ICE cited unprecedented levels of threats and violence against officers and personnel.

The ACLU said giving officers a covert means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm and less accountability.

ICE argues the tool may reduce the need for physical force.

Lawmakers also referenced numerous well-documented incidents of excessive force and civil rights violations.

The senators said they are concerned about substantial risks in using the gloves during ICE arrests.

ICE says the gloves will be used under policies, training, and accountability standards.

The procurement documents do not detail those safeguards.

The manual recommends giving a person a reasonable opportunity to comply before using force.

Democrats demanded updates on training and how federal funding is being used to buy the gloves.

A DHS spokesperson called the Democratic criticism despicable and an attempt to undermine and endanger officers.

The company says the devices should not be used as punishment or on the elderly, pregnant women, young children, or people with serious disabilities.

The senators wrote that the American people have demanded de-escalation in immigration enforcement.

The spokesperson said ICE officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics.

The spokesperson said every decision is reviewed so the technology matches law-enforcement policies and standards.

A DHS spokesperson said ICE is constantly assessing tools used in the field.

Associated Press

ICE awards $16.7M contract to buy 6,000 pairs of gloves that deliver electric shocks

Ryan J. Foley

27 Aug 2026

Facts

ICE went ahead despite opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic members of Congress.

Democratic members of Congress said ICE officers cannot be trusted to use the gloves appropriately.

ICE published the notice hours after senators asked it to cancel the purchase.

ICE said the shocks would help maintain control over inmates and prevent aggression or escape attempts.

ICE said the gloves would help officers handcuff people hiding their hands.

ICE said the gloves would assist in crowd control.

DHS responded Thursday to critics of the purchase.

Opinion

ICE officers cannot be trusted to use the gloves appropriately.

DHS reacted defiantly to critics of the purchase.

CBS News

ICE grants $16.7 million contract to buy thousands of electric shock gloves

Nicole Sganga

27 Aug 2026

Facts

The manual suggests using them for up to 15 seconds unless the subject becomes more violent.

DHS has defended the purchase.

CBS reported ICE agents fatally shot two people in attempted vehicle stops in Maine and Texas last month.

The G.L.O.V.E. was demonstrated at the Oklahoma County Detention Center in Oklahoma City on March 22, 2023.

Opinion

Critics argue the gloves could make it easier to inflict pain in routine encounters, with force less visible to the public.

The ICE contract is a meaningful expansion of the glove technology.

Reuters

US ICE grants $16.7 million contract to buy thousands of electric shock gloves

Kanishka Singh and Christian Martinez

27 Aug 2026

Facts

DHS said this month ICE planned to buy CTG-5 GLOVE units.

They aim to disrupt a person's capacity to respond.

DHS said they will be issued to HSI and Enforcement Removal Operations officers and agents.

More than 50 people have died in ICE custody nationwide since Trump took office.

Those shootings and ICE detention conditions have sparked protests.

Rights groups call the crackdown discriminatory and say it violates free speech and due process.

Trump says his immigration crackdown aims to improve domestic security.

Opinion

ICE has been the face of President Trump's immigration crackdown.

The crackdown is discriminatory and violates free speech and due process.

UPI

ICE awards $16.7 million no-bid contract for shock gloves

Joe Fisher

28 Aug 2026

Facts

ICE said it requires a non-lethal de-escalation device for high-stress environments.

The contract says the technology is vital to mission demands, officer safety, and the president's enforcement priorities.

Opinion

UPI said the gloves are to be used to detain people by force.

ICE personnel are not adequately trained or accountable for interactions with civilians.

El País

Despite criticism, ICE will deploy gloves that deliver electric shocks for its immigration enforcement operations

Alonso Martínez

28 Aug 2026

Facts

California Democratic lawmakers fast-tracked bill AB 2760.

The ACLU also questioned the procurement.

DHS defended the purchase.

Opinion

The award comes amid intense questioning over use of force and safeguards.

Waiting for a tragedy to act would be something California could not handle.

NewsNation

ICE awards $16.7M for shock gloves despite Democrats' objections

NewsNation

28 Aug 2026

Facts

Maine Independent Sen. Angus King signed the letter.

DHS previously estimated outfitting officers would cost $10 million to $20 million.

There is no specific timeline for when officers could begin using the gloves.

Senators said ICE already has pepper spray, Tasers, batons, restraint techniques, and de-escalation strategies.

A DHS source told NewsNation training with the G.L.O.V.E. began in early August.

ICE officials accused sanctuary-state lawmakers of interfering with enforcement and putting officers at risk.

ICE officials cite a rising number of attacks on officers as part of the need for the gloves.

The source said the equipment is safer than a TASER.

The source described the equipment as a low-impact force tool used to de-escalate.

The spokesperson said officers also regularly receive use-of-force training.

Compliant Technologies did not respond to NewsNation.

Opinion

Interfering with those operations puts the health of federal officers at risk.