1. United States
2. N.C.
3. Letter

I am asking you to support legislation that prevents our state, and local governments in our state, from providing any support, aid, or assistance to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement in its use of electric shock gloves. These devices can inflict pain, injury, and fear, particularly when used against people who are restrained, detained, or otherwise unable to protect themselves. Can you imagine being a child, and having these gloves used on you? Can you imagine being a parent, and watching these gloves be used on your child? Can you imagine having a pacemaker or bing medically vulnerable, and having these devices used on you? Our state, and local governments in our state, should not spend public money, provide personnel, make facilities available, share equipment, offer training, or otherwise assist ICE in acquiring, storing, testing, deploying, or using these gloves. It seems that the Supremacy Clause limits our state’s ability to directly control federal officers performing authorized federal duties. I cannot believe I have to write these next words: Apparently this is true even when a rogue agency wants to use torture gloves. We have seen this story before. The images from Abu Ghraib showed us where unchecked authority and torture devices lead—to systematic human rights violations that stain our nation's conscience for generations. We swore "never again." Yet here we are, preparing to equip ICE officers with implements of pain during an immigration crackdown already marked by excessive force and minimal accountability. Therefore, our state needs carefully drafted legislation. I recognize that it cannot nullify federal immigration authority or impose a blanket prohibition on federal personnel acting solely under federal command. Instead, our laws should establish a clear state non-assistance and state-resource ban. The law should prohibit every state and local agency, employee, contractor, and recipient of state funds from purchasing, possessing, lending, transporting, storing, testing, demonstrating, maintaining, or using electric shock gloves for ICE or on ICE’s behalf. It should also prohibit the use of state-owned property, vehicles, equipment, databases, detention space, and personnel to facilitate that conduct. The law should include meaningful enforcement mechanisms, public reporting requirements, record preservation, and penalties for agencies or contractors that knowingly violate it. The legislation should be paired with safety and accountability laws. Such laws should apply to anyone who uses an electric shock device in this state, regardless of agency or federal status, and should prohibit unreasonable, reckless, or excessive use of force. They should require medical evaluation after deployment, prompt reporting, preservation of video and device records, independent investigation of injuries, and access to appropriate civil remedies. The standards must be neutral and generally applicable, while preserving the ability of courts to determine whether federal immunity applies in a particular case. Our state should not assist conduct that threatens human safety and dignity. Please introduce and support legislation that ends all state and local aid, resources, and facilitation for ICE’s use of these gloves while establishing strong, constitutional accountability standards.