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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.
(Photo: Matt Stone/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald via Getty Images)
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.
Apr 09, 2025
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 servicewere 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.
An Unconstitutional Rampage
Trump and Musk are on an unconstitutional rampage, aiming for virtually every corner of the federal government. These two right-wing billionaires are targeting nurses, scientists, teachers, daycare providers, judges, veterans, air traffic controllers, and nuclear safety inspectors. No one is safe. The food stamps program, Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are next. It’s an unprecedented disaster and a five-alarm fire, but there will be a reckoning. The people did not vote for this. The American people do not want this dystopian hellscape that hides behind claims of “efficiency.” Still, in reality, it is all a giveaway to corporate interests and the libertarian dreams of far-right oligarchs like Musk. Common Dreams is playing a vital role by reporting day and night on this orgy of corruption and greed, as well as what everyday people can do to organize and fight back. As a people-powered nonprofit news outlet, we cover issues the corporate media never will, but we can only continue with our readers’ support. |
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alien enemies actamazon.comdonald trumpimmigration and customs enforcementmass deportationstodd lyonsunited statesimmigration
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 servicewere 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.
Related Articles Around the Web
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 servicewere 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.
Related Articles Around the Web
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