Politico | Stephen Miller pressuring Trump officials amid immigration shake-ups

The White House hardliner is driving a more aggressive immigration approach

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A 33-year-old policy adviser and speech-writer, Stephen Miller is the Trump administration’s most influential advocate for stricter immigration policies. Filed photo: Reuters

Published: 12:24pm, 8 Apr 2019Updated: 2:26pm, 8 Apr 2019

This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Anita Kumar, Gabby Orr and Daniel Lippman on politico.com on April 7, 2019.

As US President Donald Trump roils the capital over illegal immigration, his influential aide Stephen Miller is playing a more aggressive behind-the-scenes role in a wider administration shake-up.

Frustrated by the lack of headway on a signature Trump campaign issue, the senior White House adviser has been arguing for personnel changes to bring in more like-minded hardliners, according to three people familiar with the situation – including the ouster of a key immigration official at the Department of Homeland Security, whose secretary, Kirstjen Nielsen, announced on Sunday that she is resigning.

Miller has also recently been telephoning mid-level officials at several federal departments and agencies to angrily demand that they do more to stem the flow of immigrants into the country, according to two people familiar with the calls.

The pressure comes as Trump, who forced a government shutdown over his demand for a Mexican border wall, is again making immigration the central theme of his presidency; last week, Trump backed off his threats to shut down the border entirely.

The officials at the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and State, who each handle different parts of the immigration process, were initially surprised that a high-ranking White House official like Miller would call them directly, rather than contact their bosses.