ICE Eyes Use Of ‘Shock Gloves’ For Deportation Efforts, Dems Melt Down

New York Democrats are already threatening legal action as U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement considers adding high-tech electric shock gloves to the equipment available to officers carrying out arrests and deportations.

Gov. Kathy Hochul and Attorney General Letitia James sounded the alarm Wednesday over the devices, warning that ICE officers could face consequences if the gloves are used in New York in violation of state law.

The Department of Homeland Security is considering spending as much as $20 million on thousands of devices described in federal procurement records as “conductive distraction and de-escalation devices.”

The equipment, known as the G.L.O.V.E., short for Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, is designed to deliver an electrical charge through direct contact with a person.

Unlike a traditional Taser, the glove does not fire prongs into the skin. Instead, an officer activates a button near the wrist and the electrical charge is delivered when the glove touches a person.

Hochul quickly warned federal officers that New York’s recently enacted protections could be used against them.

“You cannot trample on someone’s constitutional rights, and you cannot cause them undo harm. You will be held accountable,” Hochul said when asked about the electric shock gloves. “[The protections] should be in effect here.”

James said her office is reviewing the DHS proposal and suggested the technology could run afoul of multiple state laws.

The proposal “appears to be in violation of a number of laws,” James said, including the State Administrative Procedure Act.

Asked whether her office would pursue legal action if someone in New York were injured by the devices, James left little doubt.

“You can best be assured of that,” James said.

The backlash comes as the Trump administration continues ramping up immigration enforcement and giving federal agents more resources to arrest and remove illegal immigrants, including criminal offenders.

DHS defended the evaluation process, saying any new equipment would be reviewed under existing law enforcement standards.

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“ICE is constantly assessing the needs of our officers in the field to ensure they have the tools and equipment necessary to safely arrest and remove criminal illegal aliens from our country,” a DHS spokesperson wrote.

“Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards.

“Our officers are highly trained in de-escalation tactics and regularly receive ongoing use of force training. The latest ICE use of force policy is available here.”

ICE will be spending upwards of $20M for “Shock Gloves” to help de-escalate confrontations with illegal immigrants, according to the AP.

The “G.L.O.V.E.” is manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC, based in Kentucky.

“70% of officers killed with firearms are shot within 10… pic.twitter.com/UKUYnplUbu

— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) August 13, 2026

The gloves are manufactured by Kentucky-based Compliant Technologies, a veteran-owned company that markets the device as a nonlethal tool for law enforcement, corrections, security and other professionals dealing with potentially dangerous encounters.

Demonstration videos posted by the company show officers and test subjects collapsing or dropping to the ground after being shocked through direct contact with the glove.

In one demonstration involving an Oklahoma County Sheriff’s Department officer, the officer screamed and fell after being shocked, later describing the sensation as having “no control.”

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The company promotes the technology as a way to “de-escalate tense situations quickly and effectively.”

“Our mission is to provide innovative, non-lethal solutions that empower law enforcement, corrections, security, and healthcare professionals to handle dangerous situations with confidence and control,” the company’s website states.

Former New York City police official Kenneth Corey, who now leads the Policing Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago Crime Lab, said he has personally experienced the device.

“I’ve had it used on me. It hurt,” Corey told NPR. “Somebody simply grabbed my wrist while wearing the glove. I’m a big guy. I’m 6’3″, about 250 pounds. It made my knees buckle.”

Corey argued that the technology itself is not necessarily the issue, saying the key question is how agencies regulate its use.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s ICE or any other agency. Any new piece of equipment that’s being introduced, you have to have strong policies that govern its use. And then you have to make sure that your people are being held accountable, that they’re following those policies,” Corey says.

Immigration activists, however, are already pressing their case against the potential rollout.

Naureen Shah, director of policy and government affairs for immigration with the ACLU, questioned whether ICE personnel would receive enough training to safely use the devices as the administration rapidly expands the agency’s workforce.

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“My immediate reaction was, why would you give this kind of novel dangerous technology that’s hard to train people on to agency personnel who have a track record of abuse and even cruelty?” Shah says. “The idea of arming ICE agents with limited training and a recent track record of misusing force and using it way too much, to hand them this kind of weapon is reckless and surprising.”

The electric glove technology is not entirely new. Similar devices have already been purchased by dozens of police departments, prisons, jails, hospitals and at least one public school system.

Omaha, Nebraska, purchased the gloves for its public schools, while a buyer list reviewed at a school safety conference included more than 50 police departments across roughly 20 states.

Compliant Technologies founder and CEO Jeff Niklaus declined to discuss the potential ICE purchase.

“Unfortunately, we are unable to speak on this subject,” Niklaus wrote in an email to The Associated Press.

The fight over the gloves comes as Hochul and Leitita James are separately moving to restrict cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities.

New York agencies have until Aug. 24 to end certain civil immigration enforcement agreements with ICE or potentially face legal consequences. James said a dozen law enforcement agencies in the state still maintained such agreements as of July, including Nassau County.

While DHS has not yet finalized the purchase, the prospect of giving immigration officers another nonlethal enforcement option has already opened a new front in the broader battle between the Trump administration and blue-state officials determined to limit ICE operations.

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