ICE Signs $16.7 Million No-Bid Deal for 6,000 Electric Shock Gloves Over Democratic Objections

ICE didn't wait around.

Hours after a group of Democratic senators sent a letter demanding the agency cancel its plan to buy electric shock gloves, ICE signed the contract anyway. Federal procurement records show the deal was signed Wednesday, with formal posting Thursday, according to CBS News.

The contract is worth $16.7 million, not the up-to-$20 million figure floated when the plan first became public earlier in the month, per the Department of Homeland Security notice cited by the Epoch Times. ICE is buying 6,000 pairs of the gloves at $2,495 each, plus support equipment and services, from Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based manufacturer, according to CBS News and The Independent. It's a no-bid contract.

What the gloves actually do

The device is called the G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter. It looks and functions like an ordinary patrol glove until an officer flips it into "electrical mode." At that point, direct skin contact delivers a painful shock meant to force compliance, according to CBS News and The Independent.

ICE's procurement paperwork labels them "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices," intended for use when someone is "actively or passively resisting" during arrests, detainee transport, or disturbances near detention facilities, per CBS News.

Compliant Technologies' own instruction manual, cited by CBS News and the Epoch Times, sets limits: give the subject a chance to comply first, cap use at 15 seconds unless the person turns more violent, and never use it as punishment or on the elderly, pregnant women, children, or "the severely handicapped." Officers must be trained and certified, with recertification every two years, the Epoch Times reported. Delivery is expected by March 31, 2027.

The Democratic pushback

The letter, led by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.) and signed by 15 other senators including Sen. Angus King (I-Maine), Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) — 16 signatories in total — went to ICE acting Director David Venturella on Thursday, according to The Hill and tippinsights.

The senators pointed to what they called "the blatant and tragic misuse of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and other locations," arguing it "raises significant skepticism about the agency's professional capability to safely deploy a new tool that could be used to harm Americans without cause," per Breitbart and the Daily Gazette.

They want the purchase scrapped entirely. Short of that, they're demanding ICE publicly disclose training standards and internal review procedures for every use of the gloves, according to tippinsights.

DHS didn't soften its response. "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 reported by the Daily Gazette.

New York threatens legal action

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James went further than a letter. Both said Wednesday that state protections could expose ICE officers to legal consequences if the gloves are used in New York, according to Fox News.

"You cannot trample on someone's constitutional rights, and you cannot cause them undo harm. You will be held accountable," Hochul said.

James said her office is reviewing whether the purchase itself "appears to be in violation of a number of laws," including the State Administrative Procedure Act, and pledged to sue DHS if anyone in New York is injured by the devices. Fox News noted this comes against a backdrop where a federal judge recently blocked a separate New York law that would have required ICE agents to wear identification.

The case for the gloves

White House border czar Tom Homan has defended the purchase, arguing the gloves give officers another way to gain compliance without escalating to deadly force, and that they could be particularly useful in detention settings, according to Breitbart. He's said deployment is still months away while ICE works out training and policy details.

DHS's position, echoed in statements to CBS News and Fox News, is that ICE currently has no "empty hand" use-of-force option for a workforce facing what the agency calls unprecedented threats and violence. The argument: a tool that inflicts pain but leaves no lasting injury is preferable to batons, tasers that can cause cardiac complications, or firearms.

Where it's unresolved

The gap between the manufacturer's manual and ICE's own procurement documents is real. CBS News reported that ICE's paperwork "does not account for those safeguards in detail" (referring to policy, training, and accountability standards) even though the agency says such standards exist.

Jenn Rolnick Borchetta of the ACLU's policing project told the Epoch Times she doubts ICE officers will use the devices appropriately, questioning why civil immigration enforcement needs an electric shock tool at all.

No independent oversight body has been named to review use-of-force incidents involving the gloves. No court has ruled on New York's threatened lawsuit because none has been filed yet. And ICE has not published the training curriculum or disciplinary process the senators demanded. Delivery isn't due until March 2027, which leaves a window for that fight to play out in Congress, in New York courts, or both.