U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has approved a $16.7 million no-bid purchase of 6,000 pairs of electrically charged gloves designed to help officers control resisting detainees and manage civil disturbances, despite objections from Democratic senators and civil rights advocates.
By yourNEWS Media Newsroom
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract for 6,000 pairs of gloves capable of delivering electric shocks, moving ahead with plans to equip officers and agents with the devices for use during arrests, detainee transports and crowd-control situations.
A federal notice published Thursday said the contract was awarded to Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky company that manufactures the devices.
The six-month agreement covers the gloves along with related equipment, services and support.
ICE describes the devices as tools intended to help officers gain control of people who are resisting while potentially reducing the need to use more substantial force.
The purchase has drawn opposition from Democratic lawmakers and civil rights advocates who have raised questions about how the devices will be used, what oversight will accompany their deployment and whether ICE personnel can safely incorporate another use-of-force option.
Hours before the federal notice was published, Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., and 15 other members of the Democratic caucus sent a letter to ICE’s acting director asking the agency to abandon the planned purchase.
“The blatant and tragic misuse of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and other locations around the country raises significant skepticism about the agency’s professional capability to safely deploy a new tool that could be used to harm Americans without cause,” the senators wrote.
The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, defended the acquisition and rejected efforts to prevent officers from receiving the equipment.
“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,” DHS said Thursday.
ICE publicly disclosed its interest in the equipment earlier this month when it issued a notice seeking thousands of what it called “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices” for officers and investigators.
The equipment is known as the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter.
The gloves are designed to resemble ordinary patrol gloves during normal use. An officer can activate their electrical function by pressing a button.
According to information accompanying the procurement, the electrical effect requires contact with bare skin and is intended to generate sufficient pain to induce compliance from a person resisting an officer.
Similar devices are already used by some local law enforcement agencies and correctional facilities.
ICE identified several situations in which personnel could use the gloves.
Those include arrests in high-tension environments, transporting combative detainees and responding to civil disturbances near detention facilities.
“It will be used when a subject is actively or passively resisting and an officer needs to gain control quickly to prevent injuries to both parties,” the ICE document said.
Officials said the devices could also be used to regain control of inmates, interrupt aggressive behavior, prevent escape attempts and assist officers when a person refuses to expose their hands for handcuffing.
ICE also identified crowd-control operations as a potential application.
The agency said the underlying objective is to provide personnel with another option before resorting to higher levels of force, including firearms.
The federal notice referred to requirements involving agency policy, officer training and accountability, but did not provide additional details about those safeguards.
ICE had originally contemplated spending as much as $20 million on the program.
The agency expects the equipment to be delivered by March 31, 2027.
The gloves are intended for personnel assigned to both Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, two major operational components within ICE.
Homeland Security Investigations conducts criminal investigations involving immigration, smuggling, trafficking and other federal offenses, while Enforcement and Removal Operations handles immigration arrests, detention and deportation activities.
Compliant Technologies has issued its own restrictions and guidance for use of the gloves.
The company says the devices should not be activated solely because someone is verbally defiant or belligerent.
It also says they should never be used as punishment or as an instrument of torture.
The manufacturer advises against using the gloves on children, elderly individuals, pregnant women or people with disabilities.
According to the company’s manual, officers should consider deploying the device when a person becomes sufficiently violent to pose a danger to law enforcement personnel or members of the public.
Any use should be directed toward a lawful objective and comply with the policies of the agency deploying the equipment, according to the manufacturer.
Officers are also required to undergo training and receive certification before using the gloves, with recertification required every two years.
The contract adds a new electrically based control device to ICE’s available equipment at a time when the agency’s use-of-force practices are receiving heightened political scrutiny.
Supporters of the acquisition argue that giving officers an additional intermediate option could help them control dangerous or resistant individuals without escalating immediately to more serious force.
Critics, including the Democratic senators who appealed to ICE hours before the contract announcement, argue that the potential for misuse requires stronger assurances about training, deployment standards and accountability.
ICE nevertheless proceeded with the $16.7 million award, purchasing 6,000 pairs of the CTG-5 gloves for officers and agents expected to use them under agency policy during situations involving resistance, detainee control and civil disturbances.
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