U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will spend $16.7 million to purchase 6,000 pairs of electric shock gloves. A notice in the federal database released Thursday shows that the agency, which has been the face of President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, has signed a no-bid contract with Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies to supply these gloves along with supporting equipment and services over the next six months.
According to procurement documents, ICE says these “de-escalation devices” will be used when handling detainees and protesters. Officers will deploy the devices in “high-stress environments,” including during arrests, transporting resisting detainees, and controlling civil unrest outside detention facilities. The agency stated: “The device will be used when a subject is actively or passively resisting and officers need to quickly gain control to prevent injury to both parties.”
ICE asserts that the electric shocks will help officers manage aggressive inmates, prevent escape attempts, force people to expose their hands when handcuffed, and control crowds. They also emphasize that the gloves are an alternative to more forceful measures such as firearms and will be used in accordance with “approved policies, training, and accountability standards.”
Nevertheless, this contract comes amid growing opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic lawmakers who argue that ICE officers cannot be trusted to use the technology responsibly. Critics point out that ICE officers have already faced intense criticism over their use of force without oversight or accountability while enforcing Trump's immigration policies.
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) said that giving immigration officers “a concealed means of inflicting terrible pain is a recipe for further harm to the public and reduced accountability.” Earlier, fatal shootings by ICE officers of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota earlier this year sparked widespread protests and criticism. More than 50 people have died while in ICE custody nationwide since Trump took office.
The procurement notice was posted just hours after a group of U.S. senators sent a letter to the acting ICE director urging cancellation of the deal. The letter read: “The glaring and tragic abuses of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and elsewhere across the country raise significant doubts about the agency's ability to safely deploy a new tool that could be used to harm Americans without cause.”
The lawmakers warned that the technology poses “significant risks” in civil arrests if deployed without clear limits, proper training, and independent oversight. They demanded that ICE publicly disclose how it will train officers and the internal procedures for recording and reviewing glove use. In response, the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, dismissed the criticism, stating: “Politicians pushing sanctuary city policies attempting to ban federal law enforcement from using any safety equipment is contemptible and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers.”
