Stephen Miller is '100% loyal' to Donald Trump
He is also the architect of Trump's mass-deportation plans


The cast of characters surrounding Donald Trump has changed frequently over the years. One person who has remained at the president-elect's side throughout: Stephen Miller, best known for his fierce anti-immigration views.
Miller — one of Trump's "longest-serving and most trusted advisers" — is expected to serve in the new Trump White House as the deputy chief of staff for policy, said NPR. He is expected to focus on "writing and implementing Trump's immigration agenda," setting the stage for the mass deportation of millions of undocumented migrants. That makes him "likely to be one of the most controversial picks" in the new administration, but the post does not require Senate confirmation.
Trump's selection of Miller, along with the appointment of Tom Honan as "border czar" is a signal that the president-elect is "serious about mass deportation," David Graham said at The Atlantic. In a 2023 interview with The New York Times, Miller said such efforts could involve the military. "Trump will unleash the vast arsenal of federal powers to implement the most spectacular migration crackdown," he said. That means Trump's campaign rhetoric about immigration is more than "idle promises," Graham said.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
'He was this way before Trump'
Miller first burst into public view as a provocative student newspaper columnist during the Duke lacrosse scandal in 2006, William D. Cohan said at Vanity Fair. His "outspoken support for the players" in that case earned him attention from CNN and Fox News — the players were falsely accused of rape — and helped him to move to Washington D.C., where he eventually became an adviser to then-Senator Jeff Sessions, another immigration hawk who would later become Trump's first attorney general. During the first Trump administration, Miller gained notoriety for backing efforts to separate migrant children from their families. "He was this way before Trump," said Nick Silverman, a high school classmate.
Miller spent his time between Trump administrations "litigating loudly" with the America First Legal Foundation, said The New York Times. The nonprofit outfit was noted for its "unabashed connection to MAGA ideology," said Thomas Healy, a professor of law at Seton Hall University, filing cases challenging diversity initiatives at big corporations and state agencies across the country. The group was a "top legal foe" of Biden Administration initiatives to aid businesses owned by minorities and women, said CNN.
'Laser-focused' on immigrant agenda
Miller is "the architect" of Trump's anti-immigration agenda, Andrew Prokop said at Vox. His goal is to "rid" the United States of unauthorized immigrants "and cut down on legal immigrants, too." Miller has depicted migrants as "dangerous and evil criminals." He "enthusiastically" spread false reports about Haitian immigrants eating pets. But he also knows how to use the federal bureaucracy to "make his agenda happen," Prokop said. While other MAGA officials have sometimes been cast from Trump's orbit, Miller has kept the president-elect's trust by staying "laser-focused on implementing Trump's anti-immigrant agenda."
"He's 100% loyal, 100% of the time," Jean Guerrero said of Miller's relationship to Trump, in The Washington Post. He is also comfortable in Trump's shadow, never seeking to upstage the boss. Miller cannot be understood, he once told an interviewer, "if you do not understand that my sole motivation is to serve this president and this country."
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Joel Mathis is a writer with 30 years of newspaper and online journalism experience. His work also regularly appears in National Geographic and The Kansas City Star. His awards include best online commentary at the Online News Association and (twice) at the City and Regional Magazine Association.
-
October 19 editorial cartoons
Cartoons Sunday's editorial cartoons include Pete Hegseth and the press, an absence of government, and George Washington crossing the Delaware
-
A little-visited Indian Ocean archipelago
The Week Recommends The paradise of the Union of the Comoros features beautiful beaches, colourful coral reefs and lush forests
-
AI: is the bubble about to burst?
In the Spotlight Stock market ever-more reliant on tech stocks whose value relies on assumptions of continued growth and easy financing
-
DOJ indicts John Bolton over classified files
Speed Read Continuing the trend of going after his political enemies, Trump prosecutes his former national security adviser
-
Trump, Putin set summit as Zelenskyy lands in DC
Speed Read Trump and Putin have agreed to meet in Budapest soon to discuss ending the war in Ukraine
-
‘The illusion of wealth can encourage people to take on more debt’
instant opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Could US Tomahawk missiles help Ukraine end the war?
Today's Big Question Or is Trump bluffing?
-
Trump says he authorized covert CIA ops in Venezuela
Speed Read He is also considering military strikes inside the country
-
Are inflatable costumes and naked bike rides helping or hurting ICE protests?
Talking Points Trump administration efforts to portray Portland and Chicago as dystopian war zones have been met with dancing frogs, bare butts and a growing movement to mock MAGA doomsaying
-
‘Are we just going to stand in passive witness to the degradation of our democracy?’
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
Trump ties $20B Argentina bailout to Milei votes
speed read Trump will boost Argentina’s economy — if the country’s right-wing president wins upcoming elections