The U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is preparing a large-scale purchase of gloves that emit electric shocks for its field agents, a decision that has sparked significant controversy among civil rights advocates, use-of-force experts, and Democratic lawmakers.
According to a notice published by the Department of Homeland Security on Monday on its contract opportunities portal, the agency plans to invest between 10 and 20 million dollars in the devices, known as CTG 5 G.L.O.V.E. —an acronym in English for Low Voltage Output Generator— manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC.
The DHS described the gloves as a "Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device" intended for agents of the National Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations, with delivery expected before March 31, 2027.
The device operates simply but controversially: it consists of conventional patrol gloves that, when a button is pressed, activate an electric mode capable of delivering up to 380 volts directly onto the skin of the subject. Unlike Taser guns, they do not cause falls or leave visible marks. The manufacturer's manual outlines restrictions: do not use more than two gloves simultaneously, do not apply them for more than 15 seconds in most cases, and avoid using them on pregnant women, the elderly, minors, and individuals with severe disabilities.
Tom Homan, the so-called "border czar" of the White House, came out to defend the plan on Friday during a television interview. "It's just another tool to help someone comply when they are not doing so. You can't just go from 0 to 100 and have lethal force be the first thing you resort to," he stated, comparing the gloves to existing tools like pepper spray or Tasers.
However, the proposal met with immediate rejection. Kica Matos, president of the National Immigration Law Center, referred to it as "repugnant and barbaric" and accused ICE of being "an out-of-control agency with a discretionary fund of $80 billion that allows them to invent and finance new ways to inflict cruelty on our communities."
From the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), Jenn Rolnick Borchetta was even more straightforward: "ICE has spent the last year showing this country that they are too quick to use force. Now they will be able to apply electric shocks at the push of a button that perhaps no one else will be able to see them using."
The debate occurs in a context of documented escalation in the use of force by ICE. Incidents in detention centers increased by 37% in 2025 compared to the previous year, with at least 780 cases and more than 1,300 individuals affected. At least six people have died from gunfire by immigration officers since 2025, including two drivers in July: Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Houston, Texas, and Joan Sebastián Durán Guerrero in Biddeford, Maine.
Geoffrey Alpert, a professor of criminology at the University of South Carolina, warned that the gloves would be sold "wholesale to a group of officers who may not be trained in other strategies such as de-escalation" and concluded that "the user's mistake is almost predictable at some level."
The device is not without a history of abuse: in 2022, two correctional officers from South Carolina were criminally charged for using the G.L.O.V.E. to administer shocks to an inmate in two separate incidents.
Homan acknowledged that "it will take some time" before the gloves are deployed on the ground, as ICE is still working on training protocols and other regulatory matters.
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