1. United States
2. Ill.
3. Letter

I recently learned about ICE’s reported plans to outfit officers with Compliant Technologies’ G.L.O.V.E. (Generated Low Output Voltage Emitter) devices, and I am horrified. The G.L.O.V.E. is described as a de-escalation tool, but I do not understand how a glove designed to deliver an electrical shock to another human being can reasonably be called “de-escalation.” Using pain or the threat of pain to force compliance is coercion, not de-escalation. I am equally alarmed by Compliant Technologies’ e-VEST, a wearable device designed to deliver an electric shock to the person wearing it in order to compel compliance. I fear that if federal immigration agents are being equipped with one of this company’s electrical-compliance devices, there is little preventing the adoption of others in the future. To me, devices that allow government agents to electrically shock people into compliance evoke torture and the tools of an authoritarian government. No government agent should have the power to electrically punish a person into submission at the press of a button. This is especially disturbing because our justice system is supposed to begin with the principles of due process and the presumption of innocence. Everyone deserves their day in court. A person who has been detained is not thereby guilty of a crime, much less deserving of physical punishment. Immigration detention certainly should not strip someone of their basic human dignity or their right to be free from cruel treatment. Illinois residents have already witnessed deeply troubling ICE enforcement tactics affecting immigrant communities and U.S. citizens alike. These actions have created fear in our communities, and I do not want to wait until an Illinois resident is electrically shocked by one of these devices before our state decides that this crosses a line. Can Illinois act now to prohibit these devices? I am asking you to introduce or support legislation that would prohibit ICE agents, law-enforcement officers, correctional personnel, contractors, and other government agents operating in Illinois from using the Compliant Technologies G.L.O.V.E., e-VEST, or any similar wearable or remotely activated electrical device intended to inflict pain, compel compliance, or punish a detained or restrained person. Even if federal authority limits what Illinois can regulate directly, I urge you to explore every power available to the state—including restrictions on state and local cooperation, procurement, detention facilities, contractors, and the use of these devices on state property—to ensure Illinois does not facilitate their use. We should not have to wait for someone to be electrically assaulted before we act. Please make Illinois a state where no person—regardless of citizenship or immigration status—has to fear being shocked into compliance by the government. I would appreciate knowing what steps you are willing to take to prevent these devices from being used against people in Illinois.