ICE Plans to Spend $20m on Electric Shock Gloves for Immigration Officers
- The US Department of Homeland Security published a note revealing ICE's plan to buy electric shock gloves that can deliver up to 380 volts
- The Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter (GLOVE) can release up to 30 pulses per second and includes a built-in microprocessor that logs every activation
- Civil rights groups including the ACLU raised serious concerns over the planned purchase, citing ICE's record of using force during immigration operations
PAY ATTENTION: Mark Legit.ng as a preferred source, and our content will appear higher in your Google feed!
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is planning to purchase electric shock gloves for use by its officers in the field, in a move that has drawn sharp criticism from civil liberties organisations across the country.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice on Monday confirming that ICE intends to spend up to $20 million on the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, known as the GLOVE. A no-bid purchase contract could be made public as early as Friday, the DHS said.
Source: Getty Images
According to BBC, the gloves, manufactured by Compliant Technologies LLC, are capable of delivering up to 380 volts of electricity — roughly three times the charge produced by a standard US power outlet. Officers activate them by pressing a button, and the devices can release up to 30 pulses per second. Each pair also contains built-in microprocessors that log every instance of activation.
According to Compliant Technologies' own user manual, the gloves must make contact with a subject's skin but will function through thin, wet clothing.
The manual recommends that a second officer be present to restrain a subject during use, and advises against deploying the device on elderly people, small children, pregnant women and those described as "severely handicapped." Officers are required to undergo training and recertification every two years.
How ICE plans to use the gloves
The DHS said the gloves would be issued to officers working within two units: Homeland Security Investigations, which focuses on transnational criminal networks, and Enforcement Removal Operations, which handles the arrest, detention and deportation of people who violate US immigration laws.
"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," the DHS said in a statement.
"Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilises is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards."
Compliant Technologies told the BBC it was unable to comment on the planned sale.
ACLU raises alarm over ICE's use of force
The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) condemned the planned acquisition. Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, the organisation's deputy director on policing, pointed to a pattern of force that has already resulted in deaths during immigration enforcement operations.
Recent incidents include the fatal shooting of Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in Texas and the killing of Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero during an enforcement operation in Maine.
"ICE spent the last year showing this country that they are willing to disregard the law and are too quick to use force, with devastating and at times fatal consequences for citizens and noncitizens alike," Borchetta said.
"Giving immigration agents a concealed means of delivering terrible pain is a recipe for more harm to the public and less accountability," she added.
ICE has been under sustained pressure to meet daily arrest targets as part of President Donald Trump's broad deportation agenda.
Source: Getty Images
US resumes deportation of Venezuelans
Legit.ng earlier reported that the United States has resumed deportation flights to Venezuela, sending back 147 migrants on Monday in the first such operation since two powerful earthquakes killed more than 6,000 people and severely damaged large parts of the South American country in late June.
The plane departed from Miami and landed at General José Antonio Anzoátegui International Airport in the city of Barcelona, in Anzoátegui state.
Source: Legit.ng
