ICE Plans to Purchase Electric-Shock Gloves for Officers

The Department of Homeland Security published a notice, reported around August 12, 2026, outlining plans for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to acquire gloves capable of delivering painful electric shocks. The devices are referred to as a Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or G.L.O.V.E. ICE intends to spend up to $20 million to purchase thousands of these gloves for its officers. According to the reporting, the stated purpose of the gloves is to help officers gain compliance from individuals, described in some accounts as combative, during enforcement encounters. The notice was published by DHS and covered by multiple news organizations, including PBS NewsHour, The Hill, CBS News, and BBC News, each confirming the core details of the planned purchase, the device name, and the budget figure. BBC News situated the announcement within the broader context of heightened tensions surrounding immigration enforcement operations. As of the most recent reporting, the purchase remains in the planning stage, with DHS having issued a notice rather than a finalized contract or deployment timeline. It is not yet confirmed when officers would begin using the gloves or which enforcement units would receive them first. Separately, an Associated Press report referenced ICE's plans to equip all field agents with body cameras by the end of August, though this initiative appears distinct from the glove procurement and its connection, if any, to the shock-glove plan is not established in the available reporting.