ICE to Purchase Conductive Gloves for De-escalation Amid Civil Rights Concerns

Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend up to $20 million on shock-capable gloves by March, drawing sharp criticism from civil rights advocates over potential abuse.

ICE Plans Multi-Million Dollar Purchase of Conductive Gloves

AP reports that ICE plans to allocate up to $20 million to purchase thousands of “conductive devices used for distraction and de-escalation” intended for immigration enforcement officers. The purchases are to be completed by March of next year. The devices, named G.L.O.V.E., are produced by a Kentucky-based company and are already used by some prisons and police departments.

The company explains that they look like ordinary patrol gloves, and the electric mode is activated when an officer presses a switch. To induce a pain stimulus, the gloves must have direct contact with the skin. According to the manufacturer, the pain usually allows the officer to gain compliance from the subdued person within a few seconds. The manufacturer states that to use the device, officers must complete an appropriate course and then renew their training every two years.

Usage and Effectiveness Evaluated by Experts

ICE agents will receive special gloves described as an effective tool. John Peters, head of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, which studies how the device is used, stated that it provides an immediate and sharp distraction comparable to a bee sting. He added that if an officer encounters any resistance from a given person, it is certainly an effective tool.

In his opinion, ICE agents could use the gloves, among other things, to pull uncooperative individuals out of cars and homes, and to place them in or remove them from holding cells. He assessed that for smaller, weaker, or older officers, this is a major advantage.

Restrictions and Severe Warnings from Civil Rights Advocates

The manufacturer warns that the devices should not be used as punishment against individuals showing only verbal opposition, nor against high-risk groups such as children, pregnant women, the elderly, or people with disabilities. Civil rights defenders have expressed concern regarding the possible equipping of ICE agents with shock gloves, emphasizing that agents are already criticized for using force with little oversight and limited accountability under the tightened immigration policies of President Donald Trump.

Jenn Rolnick Borchetta of the American Civil Liberties Union questioned whether ICE officers will use the devices properly, noting that shocked individuals may not receive any prior warning. She stated that ICE has shown the country over the past year that it reaches for force too readily, and now officers will be able to deliver electric shocks with a slight press of a button that perhaps no one else will notice, adding that introducing gloves that make it so easy to inflict immense pain during interventions is a recipe for harming society.

Surge in ICE Detentions Under Trump Administration

According to CBS News, ICE detained over 46,000 people last month, the highest number since the beginning of President Donald Trump’s term. Agents intensified operations at airports and other locations. This was the second consecutive month with a record-high number of detentions carried out by ICE, following approximately 43,000 detentions in June. Co-authored from Washington by Natalia Dziurdzińska (PAP). Edited by Jan Latała.