Washington, DC — As long as Stephen Miller is driving immigration policy from the White House with the blessing of President Trump, any notion that the administration will rein in their anti-immigrant agenda or chart a different course following the killing of Alex Pretti and Renee Good – and broader backlash – is mistaken.
Despite new polling showing Miller’s unpopularity and growing concerns about how his mass deportation crusade is harming Republicans’ political chances, Miller appears to be expanding his influence. Miller is in fact doubling down on the federal anti-immigrant, anti-Constitution crusade that threatens all Americans’ rights and safety, while also helping to steer disturbing state policymaking in states like Tennessee.
According to Vanessa Cárdenas, Executive Director of America’s Voice:
“De facto President Stephen Miller is running America and Donald Trump’s political support into the ground. Functionally a prime minister if not an unelected president, with a sphere of influence that is as expansive as it is dangerous, Miller continues his relentless assault on America and Americans. As new reporting makes clear, despite public outcry, political blowback, and real world harm to citizens and non-citizens alike, Miller is proceeding full speed ahead in his anti-immigrant crusade and broader attack on Americans’ rights. ”
See more reporting on Miller’s influence, his unpopularity, and reminders that he is doubling down on the dangerous agenda despite the real world harms and growing backlash
- Growing Role in Dangerous State Policymaking. As The Guardian notes in, “Tennessee to test Stephen Miller’s plan of enlisting states for immigration enforcement:” “The power to enforce immigration law rests with the federal government. But Trump adviser, Stephen Miller, has a vision for states working in coordination with federal immigration officials, and he’s attempting to test it out in Tennessee … [weeks after meeting with Miller, Tennessee Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton] announced a suite of eight bills that would turn state and local police officers, judges, teachers, social workers and others into an auxiliary extension of the federal immigration system. It makes the presence of an undocumented person with a final deportation order a state crime in Tennessee. And it mandates that officials report the presence of undocumented persons to ICE, while criminalizing disclosure of information about immigration enforcement activities to the public.”
- Republican Worries About Miller’s Approach Hurting GOP Politically: The Wall Street Journal editorial board examined the upset Texas state Senate win by Democrats in a heavily Trump district and noted that, “Stephen Miller’s mass deportation strategy is backfiring at the polls.” Similarly, Ileana Garcia, a Florida state senator and former Trump campaign hand, stated: “I do think that he will lose the midterms because of Stephen Miller.”
- Polling Shows Miller’s Growing Unpopularity: New Navigator polling finds Americans want to see Stephen Miller fired – especially when details about his influence and his defense of the shooting of Alex Pretti are included:
- When asked, “Do you support or oppose firing White House Homeland Security and immigration advisor Stephen Miller?,” a plurality of 42% of Americans support his firing, versus 29% who oppose and 29% who aren’t sure.
- When more details about Miller are included, the support for his firing jumps significantly. When asked, “Do you support or oppose firing White House Homeland Security and immigration advisor Stephen Miller, who is the architect of Trump’s ICE policies, has defended the ICE killings in Minneapolis, and called the victims assassins and domestic terrorists?” 52% support his firing, 32% oppose, and 16% aren’t sure.
- Of note, when given fuller details of Miller, Republican respondents are split evenly, between 40% who support his firing and 40% who oppose
- Read the Chilling Wired Story, “The Paramilitary ICE and CBP Units at the Center of Minnesota’s Killings,” for Reminders How Miller’s Approach Stokes Violence. As the story notes, “Two agents involved in the shooting deaths of US citizens in Minneapolis are reportedly part of highly militarized DHS units whose extreme tactics are generally reserved for war zones.”
