As images of immigration raids in the US swept the headlines earlier this year, with multiple deaths in ICE custody and two fatal shootings, European politicians have been quick to distance themselves from the excesses of Trump’s deportation machine.

When reports emerged that US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers were to be deployed to Italy during the Winter Olympics, condemnation came swiftly from across the political spectrum.

On 11 March 2025, the European Commission proposed a sweeping overhaul of EU return rules: the new “Returns Regulation” – more aptly described by civil society as a Deportation Regulation.

It builds on decades of expansion of the EU’s migration databases and surveillance architecture — from Eurodac to the Schengen Information System — culminating in what can only be described as a digital deportation machine.

Like much recent EU migration legislation, the proposal was presented without a comprehensive fundamental rights impact assessment. Sixteen UN experts have already raised concerns about its compatibility with international law. Yet EU institutions are rushing the file through the legislative process.

At the core of the regulation is personal data: its collection, exchange and transfer. Member states will be required to gather and share as much information as possible to facilitate deportations.