The Trump administration wants to give ICE agents another way to inflict pain on civilians. DHS is considering spending as much as $20 million on G.L.O.V.E. devices -- specialized gloves that deliver electric shocks through direct contact with someone’s skin and can be activated in about a second.

This comes while ICE and other federal immigration agents are already facing serious questions about their use of force. In Virginia, a masked federal agent was caught on video pointing a gun through the window of U.S. citizen Carolina Molina’s car. Agents accused her of trying to run them over, but videos reviewed by the New York Times showed no indication she had attempted to harm them. She was not arrested or charged.

Electric shock gloves could make ICE abuse even easier. The manufacturer says the device works by causing pain and disrupting coordinated muscle movement. Its own instructions warn against using the gloves as punishment or in response to verbal defiance and caution against use on children, pregnant people, older people, and people with severe disabilities.

Federal agents do not have absolute immunity from state criminal law. Courts have recognized protections for federal officers carrying out lawful duties, but those protections can end when conduct is objectively unreasonable or plainly unjustified. State Attorneys General have a responsibility to investigate credible allegations of excessive force and pursue every available avenue for accountability.

New York is already moving in that direction. Attorney General Letitia James says her office is reviewing DHS’s proposal and has pledged action if New Yorkers are harmed. Gov. Kathy Hochul says recently enacted state protections should be used to hold federal agents accountable for violations of people’s rights. State lawmakers nationwide should go further by making clear that electric shock gloves have no place in interactions between government agents and the public.

Click ‘START WRITING’ to tell your state legislators and Attorney General to prohibit electric shock gloves, investigate ICE for excessive force, and hold agents accountable when they violate the law.