ICE awards $16.7 million sole-source contract for shock gloves
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a six-month, $16.7 million sole-source contract for 6,000 electric-shock gloves, prompting Democratic senators to demand details about their use, medical safeguards and oversight before deployment.
ICE signed the contract with Compliant Technologies LLC on Wednesday, August 26, 2026, and formally posted the procurement paperwork Thursday, August 27. The award covers the company’s CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E. units, testers, refills, disinfectant, certification, training and support services.
What ICE bought
The procurement package is valued at $16,700,640 and runs for six months. The documents identify Compliant Technologies as the only responsible source ICE found for the specific wearable, direct-contact technology described in the requirement.
The apparent price for an individual glove is $2,495. That figure should not be treated as the total cost per glove or used to describe the entire award as a simple 6,000-unit purchase. The contract also includes support equipment, consumable supplies, training, certification and other services.
The G.L.O.V.E. is designed to deliver electrical pulses through direct contact with bare skin. ICE’s specifications list an operating voltage range of 324 to 362 volts and a maximum voltage limit of 380 volts. The procurement document distinguishes the device from probe-firing systems such as Tasers.
How ICE says it may be used
According to the procurement justification, ICE intends the gloves for enforcement operations, custodial transportation of detainees and civil disturbances around detention facilities. The document refers to situations involving active or passive resistance.
ICE describes the device as a non-lethal conductive distraction and de-escalation tool that could reduce reliance on more severe forms of force. That is the agency’s stated purpose, not an independent finding that the gloves are harmless or medically safe.
The public records establish that ICE bought the equipment. They do not establish that the gloves have been deployed in the field.
Why ICE used a sole-source contract
The procurement justification cites 41 U.S.C. §3304 and the federal exception allowing noncompetitive procedures when only one responsible source can meet the government’s requirements.
ICE says its market research found one open-market source and no comparable product on GSA Advantage. The agency considered alternatives, including Tasers, but concluded they were technically different from the wearable direct-contact system it sought.
That is ICE’s procurement conclusion, not an independently verified finding that no other product could satisfy the agency’s needs.
Senators seek safeguards and limits
Sixteen Democratic senators, led by Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, sent ICE a letter on August 27 questioning the purchase and asking the agency to refrain from deployment until it provides more information.
The lawmakers asked about authorized uses, whether the gloves would be prohibited in crowd-control situations, restrictions involving vulnerable people, training and recurring certification, medical risks and responses, reporting requirements, body-camera activation, supervisory review and independent oversight.
They also asked whether ICE would conduct a limited pilot program before broader deployment and requested records on testing, medical evaluations, risk assessments and internal concerns. The letter asks ICE to provide written responses and documents by September 10, 2026.
Those requests highlight what remains unclear in the publicly available procurement records: the final operational rules governing authorization, warnings, duration and repetition of shocks, medical evaluation, documentation, body-camera use and public reporting.
What happens next
The contract has been awarded and remains in place unless ICE changes course or takes another action. The next public milestone is the senators’ September 10 response deadline.
For taxpayers, the immediate issue is the scope of the six-month package: 6,000 electrical-shock gloves plus the equipment, supplies and services needed to certify and operate them. For detainees, officers and the public, the central unanswered question is how ICE will limit and document their use, particularly in transportation and civil-disturbance settings.
Sources
- ICE procurement justification for the G.L.O.V.E. contract
- Associated Press report on ICE’s electric-shock glove contract
- Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s August 27 letter to ICE
Look for updates to this story
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