1. United States
2. Wisc.
3. Letter

I am appalled by acting ICE director Todd Lyons’s recent comments at the 2025 Border Security Expo, claiming that “we need to get better at treating this like a business” and expressing his desire to see a deportation process “like Prime, but with human beings.” First of all, I am alarmed by the sheer dehumanization of migrant people (a trend that has been blatantly apparent throughout this administration and beyond). Immigrants are not objects to be shipped, they are people with the same dignity as anyone else, and they deserve to be treated as such. Secondly, I am alarmed by the push to privatize as much of this process as possible. This is a push to profit off of deportations, which will in turn create pressure to have as many deportations as possible (thus further reducing the care given to treat people humanely and ensure that innocent people are not harmed in this process. We already know that innocent people are being swept up in this deportation frenzy, and innocent people are even being condemned to El Salvador’s prison in a flagrant violation of due process and basic human rights. I urge you to speak out against this attitude towards deportation, which was articulated by Todd Lyons but has been clearly evident in many aspects of this administration. There is just so much propaganda and dehumanization, it’s hard to know where to begin. Have some humanity. Take a stand. Don’t be complicit