ICE To Equip Agents With Shock‑Gloves, Sparking Civil‑Rights Outcry
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is seeking to equip officers with a new type of weapon: electric‑shock gloves. The DHS notes that the agency plans to spend up to 20 million USD on the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, a device that can deliver up to 380 volts of electricity when a button is pressed.
The gloves are intended for use by Homeland Security Investigations agents and Enforcement Removal Operations teams, who will carry out high‑risk arrests and deportations. In theory, the shock is meant to deter non‑cooperative behaviour through pain, without penetrating the body’s electrical circuit like a taser.
Civil‑rights advocates, including the ACLU, have balked at the plan. “ICE’s history of failing to use force properly and the continued deaths on the field suggest that this technology would only increase the risk of abuse,” says a spokesperson. The gloves would keep a record of activation, but experts point out that such data can still be misused if proper oversight is lacking.
This announcement comes after a series of fatal shootings involving ICE agents, such as the recent death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and the killing of Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Maine. Critics argue that the new gloves could enable covert, indiscriminate use of force.
The DHS maintains that the gloves will improve officer safety and are “compliant” with safety regulations. The manufacturer, Compliant Technologies LLC, has stated that the device does not cause injury in normal use, but their own guidelines recommend extra precautions when using the gloves on vulnerable populations like children and the elderly.
The potential sale—a no‑bid contract—could be finalized by Friday, raising questions about how quickly new technology is introduced into policing without sufficient public discourse.
For more context on hot‑button ICE actions, see the coverage on ICE’s use of force and the civil‑rights debate that follows each enforcement episode.
