ICE Awards $16.7M No-Bid Contract for Shock Gloves

Immigration and Customs Enforcement is putting millions into a new way to deliver pain, CBS News reports. The agency has approved a $16.7 million, no-bid contract for 6,000 "G.L.O.V.E." devices—patrol gloves that can be switched into an electric-shock mode and used on people who are "actively or passively resisting," according to federal documents. At roughly $2,500 each, the gloves are pitched by ICE as a "distraction and de-escalation" tool that could reduce reliance on physical force and firearms.

The six-month contract with Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies comes as ICE faces scrutiny over use-of-force incidents, including two recent fatal shootings during attempted vehicle stops in Maine and Texas. Sixteen Senate Democrats are urging ICE to cancel the deal, citing concerns about safety, oversight, and use during civil immigration arrests. Civil rights advocates have also raised alarms about the gloves, the AP reports. Per the Guardian, shock gloves were allegedly used 27 times against a man in a Kentucky county jail who later died. Homeland Security officials call the criticism an effort to deny officers needed protective gear.