Grand Theft America / Receipt power-2026-08-10-097
ICE moves to buy $20m of electric-shock gloves for its officers
The Department of Homeland Security publishes a notice that Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to spend up to $20m on gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, to be purchased by March.
What happened
The devices, called Glove (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter), are manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC of Lexington, Kentucky. According to the manufacturer the discomfort is usually effective in bringing individuals into compliance in less than three seconds and leaves no burns, marks or scars, and the company has advertised the device as a “humane, low-optics, de-escalation solution for many situations facing our men and women in uniform”. The ACLU's deputy project director on policing said officers would be able to deploy electric shocks “with the slight push of a button that maybe nobody else can see them do”.
Why it matters
The planned purchase would add a pain-compliance tool to civil immigration enforcement that, on the manufacturer's own account, leaves no mark and low optics. Force that leaves no trace afterwards is force that is hard to review, and review is the constraint this indicator watches.
Receipt details
- Phase 2
- Turn law enforcement inward
- Equip civil enforcement like a combat force
