ICE Signs $16.7 Million Contract for Shock Gloves After Army Study Found They Cause Intense Pain

An Army study at Fort Leavenworth found that "shock gloves" ICE later purchased caused intense pain and fear in volunteers role-playing combative prisoners, according to documents from American Oversight reported by the Associated Press on October 7, 2026. Participants stopped resisting within seconds and feared further shocks afterward; the gloves overload nerve endings rather than freezing muscles like a Taser. ICE signed a $16.7 million contract in August for 6,000 pairs from Compliant Technologies LLC, and records show ICE knew the findings before signing.

ICE calls the gloves "distraction and de-escalation devices" and says rapid compliance keeps officers and detainees safer; it has not addressed the study directly. Sixteen Democratic senators asked ICE in an August 27 letter to drop the purchase or explain its use; Sen. Cortez Masto said ICE has not responded. Critics say the study shows pain and compliance without proving safety.

Border czar Tom Homan said the gloves are still working through training and policy and "could be awhile" before reaching the field.