Donald Trump’s Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) wants to arm its officers with gloves that give electric shocks. The Department of Homeland Security posted a procurement notice this week. It outlined plans to buy the devices for agents across two major ICE divisions.
DHS procurement calls for up to $20 million in electric-shock gloves for immigration agents
The notice estimates spending between $10 million and $20 million on the gloves by March 2027. The device, called the CT-G5 G.L.O.V.E., stands for “Generate Low Output Voltage Emitter.” Compliant Technologies manufactures the product, which some police departments and jails already use.
The gloves emit small electrical pulses when touched to a person’s skin. Compliant describes the effect as a quick distraction meant to aid de-escalation. A user manual states the maximum output reaches 380 volts, enough to disrupt coordinated muscle movement.
ICE would distribute the gloves to Enforcement and Removal Operations and Homeland Security Investigations. Both units play central roles in President Donald Trump’s mass deportation push. The contract appears as a no-bid award and could be published by Friday. Compliant founder Jeff Niklaus hasn’t yet commented.
Moreover, the company has called its devices safe and humane. Its website states the current does not penetrate the body, allowing other officers to grab the person without risk. But Compliant also advises against using the gloves on elderly people, small children, pregnant individuals, and those with severe disabilities. Officers must complete training and recertify every two years.
Rights groups condemned this proposal. The National Immigration Law Center issued a statement saying, “This is a rogue agency with an $80 billion slush fund that allows them to concoct and fund new ways to visit cruelty upon our communities.” The group pointed to the Secure America Act, passed by the Republican-led Congress in June, which directed tens of billions toward ICE. Advocates fear agents will use the gloves against immigrants in custody and protests. After all, violence involving ICE has drawn scrutiny this year.
For now, the notice is another step in expanding the tools available to Trump’s ICE agents.
