Democrats Demand Answers Over ICE’s $17 Million Electric Shock Glove Contract

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Representatives James R. Walkinshaw (VA-11), a Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, and Bennie G. Thompson (D-MS), Ranking Member of the Committee on Homeland Security, led Committee Democrats in sending a letter to Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director David Venturella demanding answers after ICE awarded a $16.7 million sole-source contract for 6,000 electric shock gloves despite warnings that such devices can lead to serious injury or death. The Members raised concerns that ICE plans to use the gloves on individuals in custody and for crowd control despite the agency’s alarming record of violence and misuse of force. “Incorrectly labeling migrants who largely have no criminal record as inmates and associating them with aggression shows that ICE does not intend to use the G.L.O.V.E. for de-escalation, but rather as nothing more than another weapon in ICE’s arsenal,” the Members wrote. “Furthermore, it is alarming that ICE also intends to use the G.L.O.V.E. for crowd control by ‘[a]ssisting crowd control units in moving groups or denying access to areas.’” The Members are demanding ICE provide records related to the sole-source contract, communications with Compliant Technologies, plans for distributing the gloves, policies governing their use, training materials, and reporting requirements. To read the full letter, click here . ###