US Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers will be supplied with gloves that deliver powerful electric shocks.
The gloves are designed to cause pain and impair a person's ability to respond within seconds in plans which could cost up to $20million (£14.8million)
The devices, known as the GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) are normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate them.
They must be in direct contact with someone's skin to administer a voltage that causes pain, which is intended to incapacitate those who are shocked.
The rollout of the gloves, described as being 'conductive distraction and de-escalation devices', follows intense criticism against ICE for aggressive tactics used to apprehend people.
The gloves can deliver up to 380v of electricity, roughly three times the charge of a standard US power outlet.
Democratic elected officials and civil rights advocates have called the plans unnecessary and cruel.
The size of the purchase suggests ICE plans to give the device to most or all of its officers.
In recent years the gloves have been used by some local police departments and in prisons.
The devices, known as the GLOVE (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) are normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate them
'We are outraged,' New York Attorney General Letitia James said at a news conference Wednesday, where she warned ICE officers who misuse the gloves in her state could face criminal and civil consequences.
The Department of Homeland Security, ICE's parent agency, issued a statement that did not mention the product specifically or explain why it had been chosen.
'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 statement said.
'Every decision is made with careful consideration and appropriately reviewed to ensure that any technology ICE utilizes is consistent with all applicable law enforcement policies and standards.'
While the devices are marketed as nonlethal and safe for the heart, a pending lawsuit alleges a 43-year-old man died in 2024 after he was shocked 27 times with the gloves and 13 more times by a Taser at a jail in Richmond, Kentucky.
An internal investigation found two of the glove shocks lasted 45 and 99 seconds apiece – far more than the manufacturer´s recommended 15-second limit.
'These actions not only inflicted unnecessary pain but also heightened the risk of serious health complications,' the investigation by the Madison County Detention Center found, according to court documents.
An Associated Press review found two other lawsuits alleging injuries from the gloves, including a man with heart problems who was shocked at a Las Vegas trade show and a defendant who said he was laughed at after he was unnecessarily shocked in court. Both cases have been dismissed.
Federal agents walk down a street while conducting immigration enforcement operations in Minneapolis, Feb. 5, 2026
Several Democrats in Congress including Reps Pramila Jayapal, Maxwell Frost and Delia Ramirez said on social media that ICE did not need another weapon.
'This won't make anyone safer and in fact just gives ICE another dangerous tool to target citizens and immigrants alike,' Ms Jayapal wrote on X.
The manufacturer warns the devices should not be used against some populations that ICE agents routinely encounter: 'the elderly, small children, pregnant women and the severely handicapped'.
The device's user manual also warns it should not be used in response to verbal defiance, or for punishment, torture or horseplay.
'It's too easy for this to get misused against a population that doesn't pose a threat,' former ICE acting director John Sandweg said Wednesday in an interview on MSNBC NOW.
The maker of the Taser recently phased out its drive-stun feature, a similar pain compliance tool that had been misused by some officers.
Michael Mannheimer, a law professor at Northern Kentucky University who has written about police use-of-force and issues in federal law enforcement operations, agreed the gloves raised concerns about officers using disproportionate force.
'One concern I would have is if ICE agents have this at their immediate disposal, will they use it more than they should? Will they jump over lesser force that could be appropriate and successful to attain compliance and instead use this first?' he said.
The notice published in a DHS database indicated the solicitation for a no-bid contract to purchase the gloves could be released as early as Friday, and the contract would last through March 31, 2027.
The founder of Compliant Technologies LLC, which manufactures the gloves, declined comment.