Overview
- The Department of Homeland Security published a notice committing up to $20 million for thousands of conductive distraction and de‑escalation devices for Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
- The devices, called G.L.O.V.E. and made by Compliant Technologies of Lexington, Kentucky, act as normal patrol gloves until activated and must touch bare skin to deliver a brief painful stimulus intended to gain compliance.
- The procurement notice says a no‑bid solicitation could appear imminently and that deliveries are expected by March under the plan.
- Compliant Technologies requires course completion and recertification every two years and warns against using the gloves on children, pregnant people, the elderly, or disabled persons or as punishment.
- Civil‑rights groups have sharply condemned the plan because of ICE’s record on use of force while some experts note limited jail and transport uses; key next steps to watch are the contract type, agency use rules, and independent oversight arrangements.