(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) and more than a dozen of her Senate colleagues called on the Trump Administration to abandon its reckless plan to outfit U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers with gloves that deliver painful electric shocks. In a letter to Acting ICE Director David Venturella led by Senator Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), the Senators demand that if ICE proceeds with this purchase, it must first provide Congress with answers and documentation for over 30 questions about how these devices will be used, the protocol for using them, safety guardrails and accountability measures.
On August 10, 2026, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) published a notice concerning ICE’s planned acquisition of the CTG-5 G.L.O.V.E., a glove designed to deliver a painful electric shock. The notice estimates the potential value of the acquisition between $10 million and $20 million.
The Senators wrote, in part: “We write to express deep concern about U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) plans to spend up to $20 million on gloves that deliver electric shocks. […] 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. Therefore, we urge ICE to cancel the contract and reconsider the purchase.”
They continued: “The proposed acquisition raises serious questions about necessity, proportionality, medical safety, training, accountability, and constitutional rights. Those questions are particularly important given the significant public scrutiny surrounding ICE’s excessive use of force. A device capable of delivering an electrical shock through direct contact with an individual presents substantial risks if deployed during civil arrests – even more so if it is deployed without clear limits, appropriate training, and comprehensive oversight.”
The Senators went on: “At a time when the American people have demanded de-escalation in immigration enforcement, it is not clear why existing tools and tactics are insufficient for the agency. In the past year, DHS has repeatedly spent millions of taxpayer dollars on purchases it ends up not using, including $464 million for airplanes, $700 million on warehouses, and more than $2.25 million for SUVs wrapped with ICE branding. Many of these ICE transactions, including the planned electric-shock glove purchase, are completed through no-bid contracts that circumvent the normal competitive procurement process without a sufficient rationale.”
They concluded: “If ICE proceeds with purchasing $20 million worth of electric-shock gloves, Congress needs a clear understanding of the device’s safety and authorized uses.”
The full text of the letter, including the demands from the Senators should ICE proceed with this plan, can be found HERE.
In addition to Senators Shaheen and Cortez Masto, the letter was signed by Senators Angus King (I-ME), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jacky Rosen (D-NE), Peter Welch (D-VT), Patty Murray (D-WA), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Angela Alsobrooks (D-MD), Andy Kim (D-NJ), Adam Schiff (D-CA), Jack Reed (D-RI), Alex Padilla (D-CA), Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN).