Todd Lyons, then-U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement deputy field office director, talks with his agents after they made three arrests on September 25, 2019 in Revere, Massachusetts.
Trump's ICE Chief Craves Deportation Process Like Amazon Prime, 'But With Human Beings'
"This is a chilling example of drawing inspiration from Nazi Germany to deploy logistics for mass deportation and ethnic cleansing," wrote one journalist.
While speaking a 2025 Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons outlined a chilling vision for how deportations in the United States ought to be carried out: with the swift efficiency of Amazon Prime.
"We need to get better at treating this like a business," said Lyons, explaining that he wants to see a deportation process that is "like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings." His comments citing the e-commerce giant's subscription service were first reported by the Arizona Mirror.
"This is a chilling example of drawing inspiration from Nazi Germany to deploy logistics for mass deportation and ethnic cleansing," wrote journalist Luis Feliz Leon in response to Lyons' statement.
Lyons was one of a number of administration officials who spoke at the Expo, according to the Mirror, including Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The purpose of the expo was to convene military and tech companies that are competing for government border contracts.
Noem herself sparked Nazi comparisons for a video she filmed last month while touring the megaprison in El Salvador that is currently holding over 200 Venezuelan and Salvadoran immigrants who were deported by the Trump administration in March.
The Trump administration has been locked in a fierce legal battle over its removal of some of those deportees using the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked law that gives the president broad authority to detain or deport foreign-born people during times of war or invasion.
ICE has admitted that one of the men sent to El Salvador was deported in "error." U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday blocked another judge's order directing the Trump administration to return the man by Monday evening.
Urgent. It's never been this bad.
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While speaking a 2025 Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons outlined a chilling vision for how deportations in the United States ought to be carried out: with the swift efficiency of Amazon Prime.
"We need to get better at treating this like a business," said Lyons, explaining that he wants to see a deportation process that is "like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings." His comments citing the e-commerce giant's subscription service were first reported by the Arizona Mirror.
"This is a chilling example of drawing inspiration from Nazi Germany to deploy logistics for mass deportation and ethnic cleansing," wrote journalist Luis Feliz Leon in response to Lyons' statement.
Lyons was one of a number of administration officials who spoke at the Expo, according to the Mirror, including Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The purpose of the expo was to convene military and tech companies that are competing for government border contracts.
Noem herself sparked Nazi comparisons for a video she filmed last month while touring the megaprison in El Salvador that is currently holding over 200 Venezuelan and Salvadoran immigrants who were deported by the Trump administration in March.
The Trump administration has been locked in a fierce legal battle over its removal of some of those deportees using the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked law that gives the president broad authority to detain or deport foreign-born people during times of war or invasion.
ICE has admitted that one of the men sent to El Salvador was deported in "error." U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday blocked another judge's order directing the Trump administration to return the man by Monday evening.
- Opinion | The Dystopia of the Border Security Expo Is Trump’s Response to the Climate Emergency | Common Dreams ›
- ICE Impersonator Zip-Tied Woman and Stole $1,000 | Common Dreams ›
- 'Make Corporate Complicity Unprofitable': Boycott Targets Companies Tied to ICE | Common Dreams ›
- Opinion | The Nazi Political Theory That Explains ICE's Impunity | Common Dreams ›
- Democrats Report Overcrowding, Medical Neglect at Arizona ICE Facility After Unannounced Visit | Common Dreams ›
While speaking a 2025 Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Arizona on Tuesday, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Todd Lyons outlined a chilling vision for how deportations in the United States ought to be carried out: with the swift efficiency of Amazon Prime.
"We need to get better at treating this like a business," said Lyons, explaining that he wants to see a deportation process that is "like [Amazon] Prime, but with human beings." His comments citing the e-commerce giant's subscription service were first reported by the Arizona Mirror.
"This is a chilling example of drawing inspiration from Nazi Germany to deploy logistics for mass deportation and ethnic cleansing," wrote journalist Luis Feliz Leon in response to Lyons' statement.
Lyons was one of a number of administration officials who spoke at the Expo, according to the Mirror, including Trump's "border czar" Tom Homan and U.S. Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem. The purpose of the expo was to convene military and tech companies that are competing for government border contracts.
Noem herself sparked Nazi comparisons for a video she filmed last month while touring the megaprison in El Salvador that is currently holding over 200 Venezuelan and Salvadoran immigrants who were deported by the Trump administration in March.
The Trump administration has been locked in a fierce legal battle over its removal of some of those deportees using the Alien Enemies Act, a rarely invoked law that gives the president broad authority to detain or deport foreign-born people during times of war or invasion.
ICE has admitted that one of the men sent to El Salvador was deported in "error." U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts on Monday blocked another judge's order directing the Trump administration to return the man by Monday evening.
- Opinion | The Dystopia of the Border Security Expo Is Trump’s Response to the Climate Emergency | Common Dreams ›
- ICE Impersonator Zip-Tied Woman and Stole $1,000 | Common Dreams ›
- 'Make Corporate Complicity Unprofitable': Boycott Targets Companies Tied to ICE | Common Dreams ›
- Opinion | The Nazi Political Theory That Explains ICE's Impunity | Common Dreams ›
- Democrats Report Overcrowding, Medical Neglect at Arizona ICE Facility After Unannounced Visit | Common Dreams ›