In a development that sounds like something from a science fiction story, U.S. immigration enforcement agents may soon be armed with electric shock gloves. The multi-million dollar plan is setting off alarm bells, with skeptics worried that agents will misuse the technology as they carry out the Trump administration’s harsh immigration crackdowns.

ICE spending $10 million to $20 million on electric shock gloves

The Department of Homeland Security recently published a public notice of its intention to purchase the “CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter)” for use by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents. The procurement document describes the device as “a Conductive Distraction and De-escalation Device which will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations (H.S.I.) and Enforcement Removal Operations (ERO) officers and agents.” While the document does not specify how many devices are being ordered or how many agents will be equipped with the electric shock gloves, the notice estimates the total cost of the purchase as between $10 million and $20 million. As reported by the Associated Press, which first covered the story Tuesday, the purchase announcement indicates that DHS would be purchasing thousands of the devices. This would likely make the federal government the largest customer for Compliant Technologies LLC, the Lexington, Kentucky-based manufacturer of the G.L.O.V.E. devices.

Manufacturer touts technology as ICE raises fears of ‘illegal aliens’

As reported by Newsweek, Compliant Technologies describes the devices as working as ordinary gloves until a switch is flipped on the device which allows it to emit an electric pulse when pressed against the skin. The manufacturer gives a number of warnings about using the devices, saying that no more than two should be applied to a person at a given time and not for more than 15 seconds. Compliant Technologies warns against using the devices on children, pregnant women, elderly people and disabled individuals, and stipulates that they should not be used to inflict punishments or to combat verbal noncompliance with officers. The devices, which were first developed in 2018, have reportedly been used by jails and police departments, and the manufacturer says that there have been “no documented injuries resulting from the direct use” of the gloves, which are non-lethal and do not leave lasting marks. An ICE spokesperson responded to Newsweek’s inquiry about the device purchase by proclaiming that “ICE law enforcement has been delivering on President Trump’s promise to the American people to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens including murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists.” The ICE representative also touted statistics proclaiming exponentially increased assaults and threats against ICE agents.

Warnings that devices will be abused by ICE

Despite ICE’s rhetoric and Compliant Technologies’ assurances of safety, public safety advocates warn that the new devices could be abused by immigration agents. Speaking to the Associated Press, the American Civil Liberties Union’s Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, who monitors policing, warned of the dangers of putting the devices in ICE’s hands. “ICE spent the last year showing this country they are too quick to use force,” she said. “Now they will be able to deploy electric shocks with the slight push of a button that maybe nobody else can see them do.” She warned “Introducing gloves that can so easily be used to deliver terrible pain in encounters is a recipe for harm to the public.” ICE has regularly come under criticism for its heavy-handed and often violent tactics. The agency has been criticized for a number of lethal encounters, most notably the killings of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti in separate incidents in Minneapolis in January. The violence and lack of professionalism displayed by ICE agents has created widespread outcry to reform and constrain the agency. And the calls to reform or even abolish ICE have been fueled by various videos of tense encounters in which ICE agents have used or threatened to use force against civilians, including American citizens.

Now, ICE agents will soon have a new weapon literally at their fingertips. While proponents of this technology present it as a way of deescalating violent situations, critics argue that the electric shock devices will simply give ICE agents another tool for inflicting pain, and these skeptics argue that the agency has not proven itself willing to handle itself responsibly.