{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-gabe-vasquez-calls-total-ban-ice-usage-electric-gloves", "Rep. Gabe Vasquez Calls for Total Ban on ICE Usage of Electric Gloves", "2026-09-04", "2026", "2026-09", "Democrat", "House", "NM", "Gabe Vasquez", "V000136", "vasquez.house.gov", "vasquez", "https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON, D.C. \u2013 U.S. Representative Gabe Vasquez (NM-02) sent a letter to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) demanding the immediate cancellation of their wasteful $16.7 million contract to equip ICE agents with electric shock gloves and the total ban of abusive devices across all immigration enforcement and detention operations.\n\n\u201cThis Administration\u2019s mass deportation campaign isn\u2019t just targeting the \u2018worst of the worst,\u2019 it is terrorizing our communities,\u201d said Vasquez. \u201cNow, they\u2019re wasting taxpayer dollars to give untrained agents electric shock gloves \u2013 everything about this goes against our American values and puts American citizens at risk. We need reform and accountability, not untrained agents with more dangerous weapons.\u201d\n\n\u201cIntroducing low-visibility electric shock weapons into our immigration enforcement system is an unacceptable escalation that prioritizes physical intimidation and unaccountable force over human safety and administrative accountability,\u201d wrote Vasquez in the letter. \u201cWe reiterate our demand that you immediately halt the acquisition and deployment of electric shock gloves, cancel the contract, and refocus the Department\u2019s resources on accountability and humanitarian standards rather than expanding a paramilitary apparatus.\u201d\n\nThe letter, joined by over 40 Members of Congress, highlights concerns about the use of electric shock devices like the G.L.O.V.E. by the UN Special Rapportuer on Torture, Amnesty International, Center for Victims of Torture, and Physicians for Human Rights. It also requests information regarding training and protocol for the G.L.O.V.E usage, and detailed documents regarding testing of the device.\n\nYou can read the full letter HERE.\n\nRep. Vasquez has consistently stood up against MAGA Republican\u2019s mass deportation agenda and called for common-sense ICE reforms, protecting due process and human rights, and targeted, effective immigration enforcement. Some of his efforts include:\n\nIntroducing the New American Immigration Plan, a commonsense plan to secure our borders, boost local economies, and expand legal pathways \u2014 all in a humane, cost-effective way that lives up to our American values of fairness and law and order.\n\nVoting against the Republican tax law, which granted DHS a $150 billion blank check to pay for mass detentions and deportations, including of American citizens\n\nStanding firm in his calls for reforms at DHS and opposition handing ICE another blank check\n\nIntroducing the Humane Accountability Act, a bill that requires DHS to tell Congress and the public what it\u2019s doing with taxpayer money \u2014 including data on detentions, deportations, and deaths in custody \u2014 so families know where their loved ones are and the public knows what its government is doing with taxpayer funds.\n\n###", 1, "2026-09-05T08:49:07Z", "2026-09-05T08:50:44Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://vasquez.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-gabe-vasquez-calls-total-ban-ice-usage-electric-gloves"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.1221328750252724, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}