'A perfect tool for abuse.' Why experts are concerned about ICE's $17 million electric shock gloves contract

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents may soon be outfitted with electric shock gloves that can deliver painful jolts when they come in contact with a person's skin. While ICE says the new gear will help agents deescalate situations with detainees or protesters without relying on "higher levels of force," Democrats in Congress and civil rights advocates are pushing back, in no small measure because of the agency's history of deadly clashes.

"ICE requires a low-impact tool for its officers and agents to utilize in cases where an individual is resisting arrest or otherwise represents a clear threat to officers and agents," the August contract justification said. "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."

White House border czar Tom Homan has argued the gloves could help avert deadly encounters.

"It's another device to help someone get compliant when they are not," Homan said in an Aug. 13 Fox News interview . "You can't just go from 0 to 100, right, and the first thing you go for is lethal force."

But the nearly $17 million contract for 6,000 pairs of gloves comes as ICE officers' use of force is facing increased scrutiny.

"It's a terrible idea for an agency with this level of violence, a record of dishonesty and its use of force records, and just a general lack of accountability structures to get this technology," said Katherine Hawkins, senior legal analyst at the Project on Government Oversight.

California's legislature swiftly passed a bill on Monday in reaction to the Trump administration's move, banning law enforcement officers from using electric shock gloves. Local police agencies have opposed the bill, saying the gloves are an important deescalation tool.

Whether California will successfully limit ICE agents from wearing the gloves is unclear. In February, a federal judge struck down a California law that would have banned ICE officers from wearing face masks.

Here's what to know about the gloves and the concerns surrounding them.

The six-month, no-bid contract was awarded to Compliant Technologies LLC, a Kentucky-based company that makes products for law enforcement.

According to the company's website , the Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter, or G.L.O.V.E., includes a button officers press to activate. The electrical shock is emitted when the gloves come in contact with a person's bare skin.

The company has referred to the gloves, which cost $2,400 a pair, as a "pain compliance tool."

READ MORE: AP report: ICE plans to give its officers gloves that can deliver painful electric shocks

The product's user manual recommends not using it on elderly people, small children, pregnant women and "the severely handicapped." It also notes that the gloves may contribute to death or serious injury, and the electric shock can increase blood pressure, heart rate and adrenaline and can cause changes in heart rhythm.