Amazon ’s dogged seeking to dominate air logistics has allegedly led the company to stand side by side with a questionable firm instrumental to U.S. deportation efforts .
According to areportin the Intercept , Amazon has become a part - owner in an air lading hold party whose subsidiary company include a passenger charter business firm responsible for carrying out deportation flying for the Department of Homeland Security as part of its “ ICE Air , ” program . Activists claim those flights are good with abuse .
That subsidiary , hollo Omni Air International , reportedly excite DHShefty feesto carry out transportation flights take for “ high danger , ” accord to declaration written document viewed by the Intercept . The DHS ’ definition of high risk , however , is implausibly broad and applies to apparently banal factor like an “ uncommon or long - distance destination . ”
Afghans get off a charter plane at Kabul airport. 45 rejected asylum seekers were deported on the special flight to Afghanistan’s capital Kabul.Photo: Picture Alliance (Getty Images)
Regardless of the causal agent , once passengers are deemed high-pitched risk of infection they are allegedly subject to harsh , sometimes violent treatment . Specifically , the report references a 2017 deportationcaseallegedly involve Omni Air where deportees on route to Somalia were bunk and restrained in square jackets among other gut - wrenching item . Overall , the University of Washington ’s Center for Human Rights has document 99complaintsfiled to the DHS between 2007 and 2018 related to ICE Air expatriation flight .
Amazon reportedlypurchaseda 19.5 % stake in Air Transport Services Group , the load holding party , for around $ 131 million last twelvemonth , though a roadmap exists for the e - commerce giant to own as much as 39.9 % of ATSG . These implicit in tides to Ice Air ’s program put Amazon in verbatim contradiction with its own posit locating on in-migration . On itswebsite , Amazon claims it “ strongly support the rights of immigrant and immigration reform , ” which it enounce are imperative for the U.S. to persist competitive .
“ Not only is immigration important for the competitiveness of the U.S. , it is also important for our customer , ” Amazon tell in a separate blogpost . “ By welcome the best and the brightest endowment from around the world and having century of one thousand of employee in the U.S. from all different backgrounds , Amazon is able to more effectively make and innovate on our customers ’ behalf . ”
Ina statementsent to Gizmodo , ATSG sustain Omni Air International does provide service to deoxyephedrine and channelize troop for the U.S. war machine .
“ In these cases , Omni only put up the aircraft and crew with transported passengers supervised by government activity functionary to ensure the safety gadget of everyone involved including the Omni gang , ” ATSG said in its assertion . “ Although not make do the passenger environment , Omni would not endure the abuse of any passenger aboard the aircraft . ”
This is n’t the first time Amazon has find itself in the hot buns over its close connections with ICE . A 2018reportconducted by nonprofit Mijente , Immigrant Defense Project , NIPNLG , and Empower LLC determined Amazon Web Services and Palantir were instrumental in allow for the agency with data storage and management . AWS acted as the “ key contractor ” responsible for moving the agency ’s guess $ 6.8 billion IT portfolio to the cloud and at last maintaining a DHS database of in-migration sheath direction system and belt of biometric datum consisting of at least 230 million unequaled identicalness .
“ The government ’s move towards swarm services has been the result of the “ cloud industrial complex”—a public - private partnership among industriousness lobbyists , tech executives , key federal legislators , and tech administrator - turn - politics official , ” the paper take .
That composition disembowel a throughline between the added data capabilities afforded to the federal agency via Amazon ’s services and an uptick in deportation . Those finding also find to come during a clock time of vast DHSscrutinyover enforcement of then - President Trump ’s ruthless so - called “ zero tolerance ” immigration policies that lead to a barrage of photos depicting mathematical group of young kid waiting in large alloy cage . revelation of Amazon ’s cheeseparing ties with ICE led toprotestsin New York where demonstrators demanded the company cut ties with the agency .
Prior to that , Amazon facedbacklashand more employee protest over its decision to sell its “ Rekognition ” facial recognition to the DHS and other practice of law enforcement agencies . Amazon finally caved to pressure nearly two years after the controversy began andissueda one - year moratorium on police use of its facial recognition back in 2020 , which it has sinceextendedindefinitely .
It ’s possible Amazon ’s tie to the ICE Air deportation tactic could enkindle a similar response in the occur sidereal day and weeks . Activists speaking with The Intercept have already demanded Amazon divest from Omni Air International in the viewing of the finding .
“ First , I need Amazon to agnize its complicity , by sexual morality of its connection to Omni , in the commission of glaring human right field violations , ” in-migration writer and militant Sarah Towle told The Intercept . “ Second , Amazon should sever Omni ’s relationship with ICE . ”
Update 8:50 a.m. ET : We ’ve added a argument from Air Transport Services Group .
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