Stephen Miller grew up in Santa Monica, California and was known from a young age to have extremely opposing views to those of his hometown. While difficult to pin-point at what moment the son of a wealthy liberal-leaning family turned to conservatism, the political climate of California in the 1990s can be attributed to Miller’s beliefs. The passage of Prop 187, attempting to deny undocumented immigrants from accessing social services like education, and former California governor Pete Wilson’s emphasis on the “invasion at the border” were some of the racist narratives Miller grew up with; embracing them to become Trump’s immigration czar.
Miller attended Duke University and wrote for the school’s newspaper “The Chronicle” in his column “Miller Time”. There he spoke of the corruption of American culture in the left’s hands, racial paranoia, and national security concerns following 9/11. His article on the September 11 terrorist attacks gave the most insight into his future career in “protecting the country”. He wrote of Americans knowing the numbers but not the true horror of the attacks and if more people comprehended that, they would understand his concerns with making borders more secure.
After graduating from Duke, Miller moved to Washington D.C. and began working for former Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and Senator Jeff Sessions. As communications director for Senator Sessions, he helped write the “Immigration Handbook” calling immigration reform the most abused phrase in the English language that would benefit everyone except Americans. Sharing that even immigrants who are entering the country legally should be limited, as they are taking away job opportunities for unemployed Americans on welfare. His handbook would help kill the “Gang of Eight” plan that would simultaneously create a pathway to citizenship and strengthen the border.
Miller then took a leave of absence from Sessions’ office to join the 2016 Trump presidential campaign. Following Trump’s first win, he became senior policy advisor and writer of the administration’s immigration policies but struggled as courts and other government officials blocked his attempts of using the FBI to conduct immigration raids and other policies seen today. He is said to be “Trump’s brain” on immigration and has been compared to Waffen-SS, a combat branch of the Nazi Party’s paramilitary.
Miller can be credited for the first travel ban of several Muslim countries as well as family separations at the border. The zero-tolerance policy was described by a member of the Department of Homeland Security as a part of the agency becoming a personal laboratory for Miller. By separating parents and children after being detained, he believed migrants would be deterred from crossing the U.S. border. While the policy received backlash and was reversed by an executive order, Miller continued to support it and it was found that 2 years later it continued.
Now back for Trump’s second term, Miller has stated that “the president has plenatory authority”, in other words, Trump has the absolute power of a king. In his new role as deputy chief of staff and Homeland Security advisor, Miller has demanded that ICE officers arrest a minimum of 3,000 people a day, triple the amount from Trump’s first presidency. Described as “too happy” about deportations, in March when flights headed to El Salvador with deported migrants were ordered to be stopped by a federal judge, Miller required them to continue as part of his agenda.
As the most powerful White House staffer, he has written or edited every executive order Trump has put into place including the “Executive Order Protecting the American People Against Invasion” and “Executive Order Protecting the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship”. Considering that he does not have a law degree many question the legal tactics Miller has to be able to continue spreading his racist white-supremacist ideology, as many of his initiatives have been sent to court.
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