Mass deportation, border closures, construction of detention camps, random police raids: these are some of the radical ideas of Stephen Miller, the architect of the most controversial anti-immigration policies that Donald Trump has been putting forward since the beginning of the countryside.
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Stephen Miller established and defended the most criticized elements of Donald Trump’s program during his first term. It was he who had the idea of separating migrant families who entered the United States illegally as part of a “zero tolerance” policy on immigration.
The 38-year-old man, who has repeatedly described migrants as “dangerous criminals,” should once again be in charge of the Republican candidate’s migration policies if he wins the November 5 presidential election, several experts suggest.
Here are five things to know about the man who is described as one of Donald Trump’s most radical advisers.
1- He would have wanted to bomb migrant boats
During a conversation in 2018, Stephen Miller reportedly suggested to Paul Zukunft, a now-retired general, that he use U.S. military drones to bomb migrant boats heading toward the United States.
At least that’s what Miles Taylor, a former member of the Department of Homeland Security during Donald Trump’s single term in office, says.
“Miller argued for a potential massacre of civilians by suggesting that they were not protected by the U.S. Constitution because they were in international waters,” Taylor told the magazine. Rolling Stones in 2023.
When the general reportedly pointed out to Miller that this was against international law, the latter reportedly recalled that “the United States constantly launches airstrikes on terrorists in contested areas or retaliates against pirates who commandeer ships in the off the coast of Somalia.
“Stephen was not interested in the moral conflict of drone bombing of migrants. He wanted to know if anyone could stop the United States from doing it,” wrote Miles Taylor in a book published in 2023.
Stephen Miller has always denied these accusations.
2- He wants to tackle “anti-white racism”
Stephen Miller plans to change the interpretation of laws regarding discrimination against people of color so that the government focuses on “anti-white racism”.
He would like to “eliminate” or “modify” programs intended to combat racism against non-white groups or eliminate policies deemed favorable to these groups.
In 2021, a lawsuit filed by America First Legal, the group Miller founded to “fight the radical left,” blocked implementation of a $29 billion program that aimed to prioritize helping corporate-owned restaurants. women, veterans and people from socially and economically disadvantaged groups.
3- He wants to carry out random police raids in public places frequented by undocumented immigrants
Stephen Miller is one of the masterminds behind Donald Trump’s plan to carry out America’s largest mass deportation. He declared to New York Times that a new Republican administration would stop carrying out targeted strikes on people suspected of entering the country illegally.
To make the process of finding and deporting undocumented immigrants “radically faster and more efficient,” Republicans would instead conduct random police raids on certain public spaces.
4- He wants to build camps for migrants awaiting deportation
To detain the millions of illegal immigrants arrested as part of his deportation plan, Stephen Miller said Republicans plan to build “vast detention centers that would serve as transit centers” for immigrants awaiting deportation to other countries.
These camps would be built on vacant lots in Texas, near the border with Mexico.
5- He wanted to use the army to control the border
In spring 2020, Stephen Miller proposed deploying 250,000 troops to the country’s southern border to repel migrant caravans that were en route to the United States from various Latin American countries.
In a 2022 CBS interview, former Defense Secretary Mark Esper said he refused to do so. He called the idea “ridiculous” since it required the deployment of a quarter of the U.S. troops currently serving at the time.
