ICE Plans to Equip Agents With Pain-Inducing Electric Gloves
Civil rights advocacy groups are expressing concern about a recent announcement of a new tool that will be available to immigration agents. Here is a look at the tool and the brewing controversy.
ICE Agents Will Soon Have a New Tool in Their Arsenal
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents will soon be wearing battery-powered gloves that can send brief but painful electric shocks to detainees. According to an August 10 announcement from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), ICE is planning to invest $10 million to $20 million next year to purchase thousands of these electric gloves for its agents and other law enforcement officers.
The Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter (GLOVE) device is not as powerful as a traditional Taser gun. However, the Glove is still capable of delivering an electric shock up to 380 volts. For reference, a standard Taser X26 has a maximum output of approximately 1,200 volts, depending on the specific model.
The Glove also differs from a Taser because it does not have probes or needles that are able to attach to human skin. According to manufacturer Compliant Technologies, the Glove does not directly affect the body's nervous system. The company based in Lexington, Kentucky, said that the Glove only touches the skin area. While the sting is not powerful enough to cause the recipient to pass out, the resulting pain makes the person more likely to cooperate with agents.
The Glove device looks like regular patrol gloves. They only deliver the shock when they are activated by the agent and the palm of the glove comes in direct contact with bare skin.
The sustained physical contact with the skin causes the pain. John Peters, president of the Institute for the Prevention of In-Custody Deaths, compared the level of pain to a bee sting. This differs from Tasers, devices that are engineered to incapacitate the muscles through the pulses that are emitted between probes.
Because the electric current produced by the Glove is so low, the stimulation is not detected through metal, clothing, hair, plastics, or fur. The Glove manual states that the device should not be used on small children, pregnant women, the elderly, or severely disabled individuals.
The manual also warns that the Glove is not intended to be deployed as a form of punishment or torture. In addition, the company said that the Glove should not be used as a form of horseplay or for verbal defiance or belligerence.
According to a report from the New York Times, the devices have not been widely used by U.S. police departments. However, some county law enforcement agencies have leaned on the use of the Glove.
Assistant Police Chief Adam Glueck of Cape Girardeau, Missouri, said that he was "skeptical" when he first saw the Glove at a conference. But once the device was demonstrated on his arm, he said that he became "absolutely convinced." Glueck detailed how he "went straight down to the mat. I didn’t think about anything other than I wanted that pain to stop. I didn't think about trying to pull away or try to fight with you."
ICE will be the first federal agency to employ the use of the Gloves out in the field. According to a new report from Axios, the devices will be issued to Homeland Security Investigations and Enforcement and Removal Operations officers and agents.
Reaction from Civil Rights Advocates
The move to roll out the Gloves in the field has been met with sharp criticism from civil rights advocates, as well as former ICE officials who worked in Democratic administrations. Axios reported that Jenn Rolnick Borchetta, ACLU's deputy director on policing, is strongly against the use of the Gloves. Borchetta said that "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."
Likewise, Eric King, a spokesperson for the ACLU of Kentucky, issued a statement confirming that his group is “deeply concerned by plans to provide ICE agents with another tool capable of inflicting pain on people in their custody or during enforcement encounters.”
DHS is defending the decision to use the Gloves. An email statement said that "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. 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."
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