Trump Administration Plans to Buy Electric Gloves for ICE Agents for $20 Million
Posted on 08/13/26 at 08:00
- ICE May Use Electric Gloves
- Purchase Could Reach $20 Million
- Organizations Question New Equipment
The U.S. government is preparing to make a multimillion-dollar investment to equip immigration agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reported that the contract to acquire the CTG-5 gloves could reach $20 million.
The possible incorporation of the equipment has sparked rejection from civil organizations, which question the use of new force tools during immigration operations.
Why it matters: The gloves would be delivered to ICE agents, an agency that faces criticism and protests for its methods during immigration operations.
Electric Gloves Can Cause Pain
[Text in Spanish below]
ICE is planning to spend up to $20 million to purchase thousands of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks. The Department of Homeland Security announced ICE agents and officers could begin carrying the gloves by March. The devices have been… pic.twitter.com/j08bGx9df3
— Democracy Now! en español (@DemocracyNowEs) August 12, 2026
The Department of Homeland Security announced on Monday that the purchase of the gloves could be completed by the end of March 2027.
The devices have conductive electrodes located on the palm and function when they come into direct contact with a person’s skin.
The gloves do not produce the same effect through clothing.
When activated, the electrodes emit electric pulses designed to cause pain to the person who comes into contact with them.
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The intention of the Department of Homeland Security is to distribute these devices among Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents.
The DHS described the gloves as a «de-escalation device».
However, their possible incorporation has generated concern about the possibility of increasing the use of force during immigration arrests.
«ICE constantly evaluates the needs of our agents in the field,» the Department of Homeland Security noted.
According to the statement, the goal is to ensure that agents have tools to make arrests and deportations safely.
Organization Accuses Government of Allowing New Forms of Violence
#Video 🔴 The US government is allocating a budget of millions of dollars to equip ICE agents with gloves capable of delivering electric shocks; the purchase could be completed by the end of March 2027.https://t.co/0mzXlpi8eP#CódigoQro #Global… pic.twitter.com/fYV6V9N4A8
— CódigoQro (@CodigoQro) August 12, 2026
The National Day Laborer Organizing Network (NDLON) rejected the possible purchase and directly questioned the Trump Administration.
The organization accused the government on Wednesday of having «the ability to torture people discreetly».
Jorge Torres, director of NDLON, called for ICE to be removed from communities and openly defended the abolition of the agency.
«We must end the violence. ICE must leave our streets, our communities, and our country,» Torres stated.
«We must abolish ICE. This cannot be fixed; the only solution is abolition,» he added.
The criticism comes as immigration agents already face questions about operations considered aggressive within the detention campaigns ordered by the Trump Administration.
ICE Faces Protests and Criticism After Several Fatal Episodes
The controversy also occurs after several fatal episodes related to federal agents and immigration operations in the United States.
Among them are the shootings of Mexican Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and Colombian Johan Durán.
Both incidents occurred after traffic stops in Texas and Maine, respectively.
These cases add to a wave of protests against ICE registered at the beginning of 2026.
The mobilizations emerged after the deaths of two U.S. citizens during immigration operations in Minneapolis.
Renee Nicole Good, 37, died on January 7 after being shot by a federal agent.
Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old nurse, died on January 24 during a confrontation with immigration agents.
Both cases sparked protests and demands to increase controls over the actions of immigration agents.
Now, the possible purchase of the CTG-5 gloves once again puts the use of force at the center of the controversy.
The contract could reach $20 million and be completed in March 2027, according to the Department of Homeland Security’s announcement.
