Overview
- A Department of Homeland Security notice estimates ICE could spend $10 million to $20 million to buy thousands of G.L.O.V.E. gloves, with acquisition to be completed by March 2027.
- The devices, made by Compliant Technologies of Kentucky and called Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter or G.L.O.V.E., look like ordinary gloves and deliver a pain stimulus when a switch is activated and the glove contacts bare skin.
- The manufacturer requires users to complete a training course and to re‑certify every two years and warns against use on children, pregnant people, the elderly and seriously disabled individuals.
- Civil‑rights groups led by the ACLU and Democratic officials including New York Governor Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James have criticized the plan, saying the gloves risk covert or abusive shocks and are reviewing legal and oversight options.
- Procurement paperwork indicates distribution to HSI and ERO and suggests a possible no‑competition award, while DHS and the manufacturer have declined substantive comment, raising questions about accountability and whether bodycam policies will record their use.