Browse
Log in / Register
Share
April 23, 2025 – The Trump administration is moving forward with a plan to equip Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents with a new type of weapon: gloves that can deliver electric shocks. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has issued a procurement notice for up to $20 million worth of the devices, known as the G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), made by Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies LLC. The gloves are intended for use by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) personnel, with delivery expected by March 2027.
The G.L.O.V.E. is a wearable "conductive distraction and de-escalation device," according to the manufacturer. It functions as a standard patrol glove until activated by a switch on the hand. Once activated, it delivers a low-voltage electrical stimulus directly to a person's skin, causing a distraction or muscle interruption that helps officers gain control. The company claims compliance is typically achieved within seconds and that the device leaves no lasting marks. It warns that no more than two gloves should be applied at once, generally for no longer than 15 seconds, unless additional force is needed.
The device requires direct skin contact and is not effective through clothing or hair. Compliant Technologies explicitly states the gloves should not be used as punishment or in response to verbal noncompliance alone. It also advises against using them on higher-risk individuals, including children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities.
A DHS spokesperson told Newsweek, "ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country." The spokesperson added that every decision is reviewed to ensure consistency with law enforcement policies, and that officers are "highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training."
However, the procurement notice does not specify how the gloves will be operationally deployed. John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, told the Associated Press (AP) that officers could use the gloves during arrests, vehicle removals, residential operations, and inside detention facilities when individuals resist commands.
Several key questions remain unanswered: How many gloves will ICE buy? What training will be provided? Will there be specific reporting requirements for glove deployments? And will the agency issue additional guidance beyond the manufacturer's recommendations?
While the ICE purchase would be the largest known acquisition of the technology, the gloves have already been used by some jails and police departments. Compliant Technologies says that since its CD3 technology was introduced in December 2018, there have been "no documented injuries resulting from the direct use" of the devices. The company maintains the gloves are non-lethal and non-injurious, leaving no burns, marks, or scars.
But civil liberties advocates are skeptical. Jenn Rolnick Borchetta of the American Civil Liberties Union told AP that the public should have little confidence that ICE officers will use the devices appropriately. "Given ICE's track record, this is a tool that could easily be misused," she said.
The glove procurement comes as ICE faces increased scrutiny over a series of fatal encounters during the Trump administration's immigration enforcement campaign. Last month, agents fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican construction worker, during a vehicle stop in Houston. Days later, agents killed Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a 25-year-old Colombian man, in Biddeford, Maine. In both cases, DHS said agents opened fire after the men used or attempted to use their vehicles as weapons – a characterization disputed by relatives, witnesses, and advocates.
Earlier this year, the deaths of Minneapolis residents Alex Pretti and Renee Good drew attention, as did the March 2025 fatal shooting of 23-year-old U.S. citizen Ruben Ray Martinez by an HSI agent on South Padre Island, Texas.
ICE defended its actions, with a spokesperson telling Newsweek, "Under President Trump and Secretary Mullin, ICE is targeting the worst of the worst. Nearly 70 percent of ICE arrests are of dangerous illegal aliens charged or convicted of a crime in the U.S." The spokesperson also cited a "1,300 percent increase in assaults, a 3,300 percent increase in vehicle attacks, and an 8,000 percent increase in death threats" against ICE officers.
Since the procurement notice was published, at least two House Democrats have sent a letter to DHS Secretary Kelly Mullin requesting a briefing on the gloves. The letter, obtained by Newsweek, asks for details on the decision-making process, cost-benefit analysis, and oversight mechanisms. "We have serious concerns about the potential for misuse and injury," the lawmakers wrote. "The public deserves transparency before millions of taxpayer dollars are spent on a weapon that has not been widely tested in federal immigration enforcement."
Compliant Technologies founder and CEO Jeff Niklaus is a retired U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer Four with a 20-year military career, including deployments in Somalia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. After retiring in 2006, he worked as a contractor for the U.S. State Department's poppy eradication program in Afghanistan and later became an EMS helicopter pilot in Kentucky.
The G.L.O.V.E. procurement is still in the notice phase, meaning ICE is accepting bids from potential suppliers. The final contract amount, delivery timeline, and training protocols could change as the process moves forward. For now, the debate over whether electric shock gloves are a reasonable de-escalation tool or a dangerous escalation of force remains unresolved.
Newsweek's Matthew Robinson and Tony Phillips contributed to this report.
