Group of Democratic senators calls on ICE to cancel plan to buy electric shock gloves
Democratic senators said the $16.7 million plan could be misused without clear limits, training and oversight.
- U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement finalized a $16.7 million no-bid contract this week to purchase 6,000 electric shock gloves from Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies LLC.
- The Department of Homeland Security described the devices as "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices," claiming they help officers gain compliance when individuals are actively or passively resisting.
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada and 15 Democratic senators urged ICE on Thursday to abandon the purchase, warning that shock devices during civil arrests present "substantial risks."
- A DHS spokesperson called the Democratic pushback "despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers," asserting personnel receive "highly trained" de-escalation instruction.
- Past misuse in local jails, including a 2024 death and lawsuits, has prompted skepticism about ICE's capacity to safely deploy the technology given recent use-of-force controversies.
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129 Articles
Officials of the U.S. immigration police will be able to release painful electric shocks with the gloves by skin contact in the future. 6,000 copies will be purchased.
ICE has been a front-runner in Donald Trump's crackdown on immigrants. Officers will soon be wearing batons
During the deportation raids of ICE officials in the USA, several people are killed. Now the forces are supposed to get a new weapon.
ICE awards $16.7 million contract to buy 6,000 pairs of gloves that deliver electric shocks
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, reacted defiantly to critics of the purchase. 'Sanctuary politicians attempting to ban our federal law enforcement from any safety equipment is despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers,' the agency said in a statement.
US to buy thousands of electric shock gloves for ICE agents
Rights groups and Democrats are warning that ICE agents are unfit to use the shock gloves responsibly. Since US President Trump's crackdown on immigration, several people have been killed during ICE raids across the US.
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