White House aide claims immigration ban has been 'efficient, orderly, enormously successful'
Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller took the weekend protests over President Trump's targeted immigration ban as evidence the executive order's implementation was actually going quite well. In an interview Monday on CBS's This Morning, Miller, who has been panned for his hand in bringing the order to fruition, said that "if nobody's disagreeing with what you're doing, then you're probably not doing anything that really matters." "I think anytime you do anything hugely successful that challenges a failed orthodoxy, you're going to see protest," Miller said.
Trump's new executive order bans people from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the U.S. Miller said he would describe the ban's rollout as "efficient, orderly, [and] enormously successful" — but he did not mention border officers' reported confusion about how to carry out the order, the lack of communication between government agencies before the order was signed, the criticism from international leaders, or the hundreds of people arriving at U.S. airports only to be detained or sent back.
In the next 30 days, Miller said the Trump administration will work to figure out a better screening system to "try and ensure that people entering our country, particularly on a permanent basis, truly love and support the United States of America."
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.
Catch Miller's interview — including his attempt to explain how the ban will make America safer — below. Becca Stanek
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Political cartoons for November 30Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include the Saudi-China relationship, MAGA spelled wrong, and more
-
Rothermere’s Telegraph takeover: ‘a right-leaning media powerhouse’Talking Point Deal gives Daily Mail and General Trust more than 50% of circulation in the UK newspaper market
-
The US-Saudi relationship: too big to fail?Talking Point With the Saudis investing $1 trillion into the US, and Trump granting them ‘major non-Nato ally’ status, for now the two countries need each other
-
Judge halts Trump’s DC Guard deploymentSpeed Read The Trump administration has ‘infringed upon the District’s right to govern itself,’ the judge ruled
-
Trump accuses Democrats of sedition meriting ‘death’Speed Read The president called for Democratic lawmakers to be arrested for urging the military to refuse illegal orders
-
Court strikes down Texas GOP gerrymanderSpeed Read The Texas congressional map ordered by Trump is likely an illegal racial gerrymander, the court ruled
-
Trump defends Saudi prince, shrugs off Khashoggi murderSpeed Read The president rebuked an ABC News reporter for asking Mohammed bin Salman about the death of a Washington Post journalist at the Saudi Consulate in 2018
-
Congress passes bill to force release of Epstein filesSpeed Read The Justice Department will release all files from its Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation
-
Trump says he will sell F-35 jets to Saudi ArabiaSpeed Read The president plans to make several deals with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman this week
-
Judge blasts ‘profound’ errors in Comey caseSpeed Read ‘Government misconduct’ may necessitate dismissing the charges against the former FBI director altogether
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country