ICE BOUGHT 6,000 SHOCK GLOVES IN A $16.7 MILLION NO-BID DEAL
ICE awarded a $16.7 million no-bid contract on August 27, 2026 to buy 6,000 pairs of electric shock gloves for officers in the field from Compliant Technologies, a Kentucky-based company. The purchase went ahead even though human rights advocates had objected to the plan when it was revealed.
The Department of Homeland Security calls the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, “a Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device,” Reuters reported. The gloves can deliver painful shocks meant to disrupt a person’s ability to respond.
The contract also covers support equipment and services over six months. The DHS acquisition forecast had already labeled the purchase a firm-fixed-price contract and listed “NO” for competition. The gloves are meant for Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement Removal Operations officers and agents.
How the gloves work
BBC reported that the gloves can deliver up to 380 volts. A standard U.S. power outlet carries 120.
The gloves work like ordinary patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to switch on the electrical mode, according to the Associated Press. They can fire up to 30 pulses per second, but only on direct contact with skin, so an officer can touch clothing without shocking anyone and then reach skin. Built-in microprocessors record each activation.
Lt. Butch Gallion, an administrator at the Hawkins County jail in Tennessee, described the gloves’ compliance approach as “pain deterrence.”
The manufacturer’s manual recommends avoiding use on elderly people, small children, pregnant women and people it describes as “severely handicapped.” It also recommends a second officer be present to restrain the subject. Compliant Technologies said the gloves do not cause injury and are used by many agencies.
ICE’s notice said the devices were meant for “high-tension environments,” including arrests, transporting combative detainees and responding to civil disturbances outside detention facilities. In the notice’s words, “It will be used when a subject is actively or passively resisting and an officer needs to gain control quickly to prevent injuries to both parties.”
Backlash in Congress
The American Civil Liberties Union said that giving immigration agents “a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability.” Reuters noted that fatal shootings of two U.S. citizens in Minnesota by ICE agents, along with concerns about detention conditions, had already sparked protests. More than 50 people have died in ICE custody since Trump took office in early 2025, Reuters reported.
Sixteen senators called on ICE to cancel the order and asked for answers on safety, use protocols and accountability, according to Sen. Reed’s office.
In the House, Reps. Dean and Ramirez introduced “The No Shock Act”. Congress.gov lists it as H.R. 10226, introduced and referred to the House Judiciary Committee on September 2, 2026. The bill would bar the gloves from DHS immigration enforcement, including ICE, HSI and state and local officers enlisted for federal immigration work.
Ramirez’s office said the lawmakers also asked for information on training and protocols, device testing, inventories of less-lethal weapons used by ICE and Customs and Border Protection, and internal investigations into misuse, with a September 18, 2026 deadline for the DHS secretary, according to her press release.
What ICE knew
On October 7, 2026, CNN reported that the contract requires delivery within six months. White House border czar Tom Homan said it could be a while before the gloves are in use, as ICE works through training and policy issues.
Records obtained by American Oversight and shared with AP showed ICE leaders knew of an Army study before they signed the contract. In that study, participants in a military exercise felt intense pain, stopped fighting immediately and feared further exposure, NBC Boston reported in its coverage of the AP story.
