WorldU.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has awarded a $16.7 million contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, saying officers would use them to control detainees and protesters who resist.No-bid contract from Trump administration criticized in wake of deadly encounterss between agents, publicThe Associated Press · Posted: Aug 28, 2026 8:01 AM EDT | Last Updated: 40 minutes agoListen to this articleEstimated 4 minutesThe audio version of this article is generated by AI-based technology. Mispronunciations can occur. We are working with our partners to continually review and improve the results.U.S. ICE plans to spend $20M on shock glovesAugust 13|Duration 4:16U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement plans to buy electric-shock gloves for its officers in the field, alarming critics who say the devices can be dangerous and rights advocates who have condemned the actions of ICE during President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown.U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) has awarded a $16.7 million US contract to purchase 6,000 pairs of gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks, saying officers would use them to control detainees and protesters who resist.ICE moved forward with the purchase despite opposition from civil rights advocates and Democratic members of Congress, who said ICE officers cannot be trusted to use them appropriately. The plan first became public this month when ICE published a notice outlining its intent to purchase thousands of "conductive distraction and de-escalation devices" for officers and investigators.A notice published in a federal database Thursday said ICE entered a no-bid contract to purchase the gloves from Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based firm that manufactures them. The deal includes acquiring 6,000 of the devices along with support equipment and services over the next six months.Civil rights advocates have said ICE officers already face criticism for their use of force with little oversight or accountability while enforcing President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown. Several people, including protesters, have been killed in interactions with ICE and Customs and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) since the beginning of last year. ICE has transitioned from high-profile deportation operations in large U.S. cities after the January shooting deaths of American citizens Renee Good and Alex Pretti led to anger and protests. ICE recorded its highest monthly arrest total of the second Trump administration in July, but while the administration has said it is focused on removing violent criminals from the country, the data from the month indicated that more than half of those arrested had not been convicted of any crimes or were facing criminal charges.How Trump’s mass deportation plan became big businessCalls for ICE reform grow after agents kill 2 men in their cars in 1 weekICE published the notice hours after a group of U.S. senators, led by Democrat Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, urged the agency to cancel its plan to buy the gloves. In a letter to ICE's acting director Thursday, Cortez Masto and 15 of her colleagues in the Democratic caucus questioned ICE's need for the devices."The blatant and tragic misuse of force in Los Angeles, Chicago, Minneapolis, Houston, Maine, and other locations around the country raises significant skepticism about the agency's professional capability to safely deploy a new tool that could be used to harm Americans without cause," the letter said.The companies making big money off Trump’s immigration crackdownJune 7|Duration 9:09A growing network of U.S. companies are getting billions from the Trump administration to carry out its immigration crackdown. For The National, CBC’s Jonathan Montpetit breaks down how ICE detention turned into a big money business, and what it means for the people who find themselves locked up.The devices are normal patrol gloves until an officer presses a button to activate the electrical mode. They must be applied directly to someone's skin to produce a shock that causes pain, which is promoted as a way to gain compliance from people who are resisting. They have been used by some local jails and police departments in recent years.ICE's notice said officers would use them in "high-tension environments," including while making arrests, transporting combative detainees and responding to civil disturbances outside detention facilities."It will be used when a subject is actively or passively resisting and an officer needs to gain control quickly to prevent injuries to both parties," the document said.It said that the shocks would help "maintain control over inmates and prevent aggression or escape attempts," allow officers to handcuff people hiding their hands, and assist in crowd control.Nelson County, Ky., jailer Justin Hall demonstrates an electric shock glove on Aug. 13 in Bardstown, Ky. Hall is shown in front of a version of the American flag used by some police agencies that rights group say is divisive. (Dylan Lovan/The Associated Press)The goal would be to avoid using "more severe force," including firearms. The notice said the gloves would be used with "approved policy, training, and accountability standards," but it did not elaborate.Cortez Masto and the other senators said in their letter that the device "presents substantial risks if deployed during civil arrests — even more so if it is deployed without clear limits, appropriate training, and comprehensive oversight." ICE has offices in 5 Canadian cities. Here’s what it can — and can’t — doHow ICE enforcement has changed in 2nd Trump administrationICE's parent agency, the Department of Homeland Security, reacted defiantly Thursday to critics of the purchase, calling it a "despicable and a deliberate attempt to undermine and endanger our officers" in a statement.It is the latest no-bid contract awarded by by the Trump administration, a practice the Democrats have criticized, including contracts issued by DHS for purchases of airplanes and detention facilities. No-bid contracts were also issued in the case of controversial renovations of the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool and With files from CBC News