Stephen Miller (advisor)

Miller was born on August 23, 1985, in Santa Monica, California, where he was raised, the second of three children in the Jewish family of Michael D. Miller, a real estate investor, and Miriam (née Glosser).{{r|"BI"}} His mother's ancestors Louis W. Glosser (originally named Wolf-Lieb Glosser or Glatzer/Glotzer) and his wife Bessie emigrated to the United States from the Russian Empire's Antopol, in what is currently Belarus,{{Cite web|url=https://www.flora-and-sam.com/pages/ImmigrationShips.htm#moltke|title=Immigration: The Ships They Came On|website=www.flora-and-sam.com|access-date=August 19, 2019|archive-date=August 27, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190827063935/http://www.flora-and-sam.com/pages/ImmigrationShips.htm#moltke|url-status=live}} escaping the 1903–06 anti-Jewish pogroms in Belarus and other parts of the Russian Empire.{{cite news|url=https://jewishjournal.com/opinion/rob_eshman/214361/stephen-miller-meet-immigrant-great-grandfather/|title=Stephen Miller, meet your immigrant great-grandfather|last=Eshman|first=Rob|date=August 10, 2016|newspaper=The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles|access-date=August 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190703115822/https://jewishjournal.com/opinion/rob_eshman/214361/stephen-miller-meet-immigrant-great-grandfather/|archive-date=July 3, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2019/4/9/trump_pushes_for_more_separation_of|title=Trump Pushes For More Separation of Families on the Southern Border, Amping Up Attacks on Immigrants|date=April 9, 2019|work=Democracy Now!|access-date=April 9, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191017230427/https://www.democracynow.org/2019/4/9/trump_pushes_for_more_separation_of|archive-date=October 17, 2019}} When his great-grandmother arrived in the U.S. in 1906, she spoke only Yiddish, the historical language of the Ashkenazi Jews of Eastern Europe.{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/18/donald-trump-immigration-chain-migration-dan-scavino-tomi-lahren-216332|title=How Would Trump's Immigration Crackdown Have Affected His Own Team?|last=Mendelsohn|first=Jennifer|date=January 18, 2018|newspaper=Politico Magazine|access-date=January 20, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190513130434/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/01/18/donald-trump-immigration-chain-migration-dan-scavino-tomi-lahren-216332|archive-date=May 13, 2019|quote=In the 1910 census, [Miller's great-grandmother] is clearly identified as speaking only Yiddish, four years after arriving.}} Miller's uncle recalls that, when Wolf-Lieb Glosser reached Ellis Island on January 7, 1903, with $8 to his name, "though fluent in Polish, Russian and Yiddish, he understood no English."{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2018/08/13/stephen-miller-is-an-immigration-hypocrite-i-know-because-im-his-uncle-219351/|title=Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I'm His Uncle.|last=Glosser|first=David S.|date=2018-08-03|newspaper=Politico Magazine|access-date=2025-02-02}}

Miller attributed his conservativism to Guns, Crime, and Freedom, a book by Wayne LaPierre opposing gun control.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html|title=Stephen Miller, the Powerful Survivor on the President's Right Flank|last=Flegenheimer|first=Matt|date=October 9, 2017|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171009133911/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/09/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump-white-house.html|archive-date=October 9, 2017|url-access=limited}} Miller cited Rush Limbaugh's book The Way Things Ought To Be as his favorite.{{Cite web|last=Guerrero|first=Jean|title=The Man Who Made Stephen Miller|url=https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/01/stephen-miller-david-horowitz-mentor-389933|access-date=August 2, 2020|website=Politico|date=August 2020 |language=en|archive-date=August 2, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200802202603/https://www.politico.com/news/magazine/2020/08/01/stephen-miller-david-horowitz-mentor-389933|url-status=live}} In his yearbook, Miller quoted Theodore Roosevelt: "There can be no fifty-fifty Americanism."{{Cite news |last=DeParle |first=Jason |date=2019-08-17 |title=How Stephen Miller Seized the Moment to Battle Immigration |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/17/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-trump.html |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} According to Larry Elder, one of his mentors, Miller was already reading Ayn Rand and the Federalist Papers in high school. David Horowitz was an influential figure in Miller's life; Horowitz's contacts helped Miller kickstart his career. Miller invited Horowitz to speak, first at the high school and later at Duke University; both institutions vetoed the event.

Jean Guerrero, who wrote a book on Miller,{{Cite book| edition = 1st| publisher = William Morrow| isbn = 978-0-06-298671-9| last = Guerrero| first = Jean| title = Hatemonger: Stephen Miller, Donald Trump, and the white nationalist agenda| location = New York, NY| date = 2020}} noted that this conversion coincided with family upheaval; with his father Michael facing financial difficulties, Miller moved out of a wealthy neighborhood and was forced to go to Santa Monica High School, a diverse public school. Miller riled his classmates multiple times with statements and stunts,{{cite news|url=https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/trump-advisor-stephen-miller-booed-stage-high-school-article-1.2973670|title=Trump adviser Stephen Miller booed off stage by classmates after high school speech|last=Brennan|first=Christopher|date=February 15, 2017|work=Daily News|access-date=February 15, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190506203314/https://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/trump-advisor-stephen-miller-booed-stage-high-school-article-1.2973670|archive-date=May 6, 2019|location=New York}} many of them targeting students of minority populations.{{cite news|url=https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a53213/stephen-miller-cobrasnake/|title=A Conversation with Cobrasnake About Bad Boy Stephen Miller: A generation's defining hipster once knew Trump's controversial advisor|last1=O'Neil|first1=Luke|date=February 17, 2017|work=Esquire|access-date=February 27, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170228084824/https://www.esquire.com/news-politics/a53213/stephen-miller-cobrasnake/|archive-date=February 28, 2017}} He told Latino students to speak only English.{{cite news|url=https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/15/the_stephen_miller_story_from_pestering|title=The Stephen Miller Story: From Pestering Latino Students in High School to Drafting Muslim Ban|last1=Goodman|first1=Amy|date=February 15, 2017|work=Democracy Now!|access-date=February 20, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170825102116/https://www.democracynow.org/2017/2/15/the_stephen_miller_story_from_pestering|archive-date=August 25, 2017}}{{cite news|url=https://www.univision.com/univision-news/politics/how-white-house-advisor-stephen-miller-went-from-pestering-hispanic-students-to-designing-trumps-immigration-policy|title=How White House advisor Stephen Miller went from pestering Hispanic students to designing Trump's immigration policy|last=Peinado|first=Fernando|date=February 8, 2017|access-date=February 19, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520164136/http://www.univision.com/univision-news/politics/how-white-house-advisor-stephen-miller-went-from-pestering-hispanic-students-to-designing-trumps-immigration-policy|archive-date=May 20, 2019|work=Univision News}} Early on, Miller began to appear on conservative talk radio;{{cite news|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/stephen-miller-donald-trump-2016-policy-adviser-jeff-sessions-213992|title=The Believer|last=Ioffe|first=Julia|date=June 27, 2016|newspaper=Politico Magazine|access-date=August 6, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409005513/https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/06/stephen-miller-donald-trump-2016-policy-adviser-jeff-sessions-213992|archive-date=April 9, 2019|author-link=Julia Ioffe}}{{cite news|url=https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-trump-adviser-stephen-miller-divided-a-santa-monica-synagogue-989250|title=How Trump Adviser Stephen Miller Divided a Santa Monica Synagogue|last=Johnson|first=Scott|date=March 29, 2017|work=The Hollywood Reporter|access-date=February 19, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190127200940/https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/how-trump-adviser-stephen-miller-divided-a-santa-monica-synagogue-989250|archive-date=January 27, 2019}} Elder reportedly invited Miller on his radio show as a guest for a total of 69 times.{{Cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/transcripts/902822086|author=Lulu Garcia-Navarro|title = 'Hatemonger' Tracks How Right-Wing Media Shaped Trump Policy Architect Stephen Miller|date=August 16, 2020|publisher=NPR}} Miller wrote in 2002 a letter to the Santa Monica Outlook to complain about the school multiculturalism and its response to the September 11 attacks.{{cite news|url=https://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2002/MARCH_2002/03_27_2002_Political_Correctness_Out_of_Control.htm|title=Political Correctness out of Control|last=Miller|first=Stephen|date=March 27, 2002|work=Santa Monica Lookout|access-date=October 4, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170212204102/http://www.surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/letters/Letters-2002/MARCH_2002/03_27_2002_Political_Correctness_Out_of_Control.htm|archive-date=February 12, 2017|publisher=Santa Monica High School}}

In 2007, Miller earned his bachelor's degree from Duke University, where he studied political science. He served as president of the Duke chapter of Horowitz's Students for Academic Freedom and wrote conservative columns for the school newspaper. Miller gained national attention for his defense of the students who were wrongly accused of rape in the Duke lacrosse rape hoax.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/16/donald-trump-adviser-stephen-miller-duke-newpaper-column|title=Top Trump policy adviser was a 'controversial figure' for college writings|last1=Bixby|first1=Scott|date=April 16, 2016|work=The Guardian|access-date=August 6, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190507072214/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/apr/16/donald-trump-adviser-stephen-miller-duke-newpaper-column|archive-date=May 7, 2019}} While attending Duke, Miller organized the "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" and accused poet and civil rights activist Maya Angelou of "racial paranoia" and described student organization Chicano Student Movement of Aztlán (MEChA) as a "radical national Hispanic group that believes in racial superiority."{{cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/26/president-trumps-first-term|title=President Trump's First Term|last1=Osnos|first1=Evan|date=September 26, 2016|magazine=The New Yorker|access-date=October 4, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180614021641/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/09/26/president-trumps-first-term|archive-date=June 14, 2018|author-link=Evan Osnos|url-access=limited}}

Miller and the Duke Conservative Union helped co-member Richard Spencer, a Duke graduate student at the time, with fundraising and promotion for an immigration policy debate in March 2007 between Peter Laufer, an open-borders activist and University of Oregon professor, and journalist Peter Brimelow, founder of the anti-immigration website VDARE. Spencer later became an important figure in the white supremacist movement and president of the National Policy Institute; he coined the term "alt-right". In a 2016 interview, Spencer said he had mentored Miller at Duke. Describing their close relationship, Spencer said that he was "kind of glad no one's talked about this", for fear of harming Trump.{{cite news|url=https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/trumps-newest-senior-adviser-seen-ally-white-nationalists|title=Trump's Newest Senior Adviser Seen as a White Nationalist Ally|last1=Harkinson|first1=Josh|date=December 14, 2016|work=Mother Jones|access-date=February 16, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180125015004/https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/12/trumps-newest-senior-adviser-seen-ally-white-nationalists/|archive-date=January 25, 2018}} In a later blog post, he said the relationship had been exaggerated. Miller has said he has "absolutely no relationship with Mr. Spencer" and that he "completely repudiate[s] his views, and his claims are 100 percent false".{{cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-troublemaker-behind-donald-trumps-words|title=The Troublemaker Behind Donald Trump's Words|last1=Mak|first1=Tim|date=January 19, 2017|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=February 16, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20191116064129/https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-troublemaker-behind-donald-trumps-words|archive-date=November 16, 2019}}{{cite news|url=https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2017/01/very-young-person-in-the-white-house-on-a-power-trip|title=A very young person in the White House on a power trip|last1=Hathi|first1=Gautam|date=January 31, 2017|work=The Chronicle|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190118170250/https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2017/01/very-young-person-in-the-white-house-on-a-power-trip|archive-date=January 18, 2019|last2=Chason|first2=Rachel}}

Duke University's former senior vice president, John Burness, told the Raleigh News & Observer in February 2017 that, while at Duke, Miller "seemed to assume that if you were in disagreement with him, there was something malevolent or stupid about your thinking—incredibly intolerant." According to Jane Stancill of The News & Observer, during the Duke lacrosse rape hoax, Miller's was the "lonely voice insisting that the players were innocent." History professor KC Johnson described Duke's atmosphere during the case as not "conducive to speaking up" and praised Miller's role in it: "I think it did take a lot of courage, and he has to get credit for that."{{cite news|url=https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article130428894.html|title=Stephen Miller's brash path from Duke campus to Trump White House|last=Stancill|first=Jane|date=February 3, 2017|work=The News & Observer|access-date=February 3, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620181602/https://www.newsobserver.com/news/local/education/article130428894.html|archive-date=June 20, 2018}} Miller devoted more of his school paper column, "Miller Time," to the lacrosse scandal than any other topic.{{cite web |last1=Wiedeman |first1=Reeves |date=April 14, 2017 |title=The Duke Lacrosse Scandal and the Birth of the Alt-Right |url=https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/04/the-duke-lacrosse-scandal-and-the-birth-of-the-alt-right.html |website=New York Magazine |access-date=November 23, 2020 |archive-date=November 30, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201130205923/https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2017/04/the-duke-lacrosse-scandal-and-the-birth-of-the-alt-right.html |url-status=live }}

File:Trump Cedar Rapids (28631719185).jpg rally in Cedar Rapids, Iowa]]

After graduating from college, Miller began to work as a press secretary for Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a Tea Party Republican, after David Horowitz connected them. Though most of Miller's work for Bachmann was unrelated to immigration, he helped influence her rhetoric about undocumented immigrants. After an undocumented immigrant near Bachmann's district crashed her car into a school bus, killing four children, Miller pushed Bachmann to talk about the incident on television; Bachmann called the incident an example of "anarchy versus the rule of law." Horowitz later helped Miller to get a position with Arizona Congressman John Shadegg in early 2009.

In 2009, Miller began working for Alabama senator Jeff Sessions, who was later appointed United States attorney general. Miller rose to the position of Sessions' communications director. Sessions introduced Miller to anti-immigration think tanks such as Federation for American Immigration Reform, NumbersUSA and Center for Immigration Studies, as well as the Heritage Foundation. In the 113th Congress, Miller played a role in defeating the bipartisan Gang of Eight's proposed immigration reform bill. As communications director, Miller was responsible for writing many of the speeches Sessions gave about the bill.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/11/us/politics/stephen-miller-donald-trump-adviser.html|title=Stephen Miller Is a 'True Believer' Behind Core Trump Policies|last1=Thrush|first1=Glenn|date=February 11, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=February 12, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170212224602/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/11/us/politics/stephen-miller-donald-trump-adviser.html?_r=0|archive-date=February 12, 2017|last2=Steinhauer|first2=Jennifer|author-link=Glenn Thrush|author-link2=Jennifer Steinhauer|url-access=limited}} Miller worked closely with conservative media such as Breitbart News in promoting an anti-immigration agenda. During this time, he got acquainted with Breitbart News co-founder Steve Bannon.

In January 2015, Miller and Sessions issued the Immigration Handbook for the New Republican Majority, which was a rebuttal of the more moderate stance on immigration of the Growth & Opportunity Project published by the Republican National Committee (RNC) following incumbent Democratic president Barack Obama's victory over Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the 2012 United States presidential election. Miller and Sessions developed what Miller describes as "nation-state populism", a response to globalization and immigration that influenced Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. Miller also worked on Dave Brat's successful 2014 House campaign, which unseated Republican majority leader Eric Cantor.

In January 2016, Miller joined Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as a senior policy adviser.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/25/top-sessions-aide-joins-trump-campaign/|title=Top Sessions aide joins Trump campaign|last=Costa|first=Robert|date=January 25, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=January 30, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160125232114/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2016/01/25/top-sessions-aide-joins-trump-campaign/|archive-date=January 25, 2016|author-link=Robert Costa (journalist)|url-access=limited}} He had previously reached out to the campaign repeatedly. Though he initially had doubts about Trump's electability, Bannon convinced Miller that Trump could win. Bannon persuaded campaign manager Corey Lewandowski to promote Miller to become the speechwriter. Beginning in March 2016, he regularly spoke on the campaign's behalf, serving as a "warm-up act" for Trump. Miller wrote the speech Trump gave at the 2016 Republican National Convention.{{cite news|url=https://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2016/07/stephen-miller-the-voice-behind-donald-trump|title=Stephen Miller: The Duke grad behind Donald Trump|last1=Hathi|first1=Gautam|date=July 31, 2016|work=The Chronicle|access-date=August 6, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180306000335/http://www.dukechronicle.com/article/2016/07/stephen-miller-the-voice-behind-donald-trump|archive-date=March 6, 2018|last2=Chason|first2=Rachel}} In August 2016, Miller was named the head of Trump's economic policy team.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/05/donald-trumps-economic-team-the-ultra-rich-to-the-rescue/|title=Donald Trump's new team of billionaire advisers could threaten his populist message|last1=Tankersley|first1=Jim|date=August 5, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=August 6, 2016|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20160805173824/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2016/08/05/donald-trumps-economic-team-the-ultra-rich-to-the-rescue/|archive-date=August 5, 2016|url-access=limited}} Miller was the primary advocate for economist Peter Navarro to join the campaign full time.{{Cite news | last=Mattingly | first=Phil | last2=Herb | first2=Jeremy | last3=Tausche | first3=Kayla |date=2025-05-01 |title=The remarkable durability of Peter Navarro, the Trump trade adviser Wall Street loves to hate |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/05/01/politics/peter-navarro-trump-trade-adviser-wall-street-hate |access-date=2025-05-02 |website=CNN |language=en}}

File:Stephen Miller (27726700476).jpg]]

In November 2016, Miller was named national policy director of Trump's transition team.{{cite news|title=Pence replaces Christie as leader of Trump transition effort|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/11/11/pence-to-lead-trump-transition-effort/|last1=Costa|first1=Robert|last2=Rucker|first2=Philip|last3=Viebeck|first3=Elise|access-date=November 12, 2016|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=November 11, 2016|archive-date=November 11, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161111233349/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/wp/2016/11/11/pence-to-lead-trump-transition-effort/|url-status=live}} On December 13, 2016, the transition team announced that Miller would serve as senior advisor to the president for policy.{{cite news |url=http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/stephen-miller-senior-adviser-policy-232592 |title=Trump taps campaign aide Stephen Miller as senior adviser |last=Nussbaum |first=Matthew |work=Politico |date=December 13, 2016 |access-date=February 1, 2017 |archive-date=February 5, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205063051/http://www.politico.com/blogs/donald-trump-administration/2016/12/stephen-miller-senior-adviser-policy-232592 |url-status=live }} As a speechwriter for Trump, Miller helped write Trump's 2017 inaugural address.{{cite news |last=McKelvey |first=Tara |date=January 23, 2018 |title=Stephen Miller: How much influence does he have on Trump? |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-42795179 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190331082556/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-42795179 |archive-date=March 31, 2019 |access-date=January 26, 2018 |publisher=BBC News}}{{cite news |last1=Dawsey |first1=Josh |author-link=Josh Dawsey |last2=Johnson |first2=Eliana |author-link2=Eliana Johnson |date=April 13, 2017 |title=Trump's got a new favorite Steve |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/stephen-miller-white-house-trump-237216 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180524233409/https://www.politico.com/story/2017/04/stephen-miller-white-house-trump-237216 |archive-date=May 24, 2018 |access-date=April 16, 2017 |work=Politico |publisher=Capitol News Company |location=Arlington, Virginia}}{{cite news |date=January 23, 2017 |title=Who is Stephen Miller, the Jewish adviser behind Trump's 'American Carnage'? |url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/who-is-stephen-miller-the-jewish-adviser-behind-trump-s-american-carnage-1.5488992 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180913004709/https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/who-is-stephen-miller-the-jewish-adviser-behind-trump-s-american-carnage-1.5488992 |archive-date=September 13, 2018 |access-date=April 16, 2017 |newspaper=Haaretz}} He was initially given responsibility for setting all domestic policy, but quickly assumed responsibility for immigration policy only.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/26/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-win-678720 |title=Stephen Miller roiling nation with back-channel immigration meetings |last=Johnson |first=Eliana |date=June 26, 2018 |work=Politico |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627045733/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/26/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-win-678720 |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/how-stephen-miller-manipulates-donald-trump-to-further-his-immigration-obsession|title=How Stephen Miller Manipulates Donald Trump to Further His Immigration Obsession|last=Blitzer|first=Jonathan|magazine=The New Yorker|date=February 20, 2020|language=en|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221172933/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/how-stephen-miller-manipulates-donald-trump-to-further-his-immigration-obsession|url-status=live}} Of Trump's three senior advisors, Miller was regarded as the one who shaped the his immigration policies most.{{cite news|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/stephen-millier-covid-19-positive-coronavirus-debate-prep-sessions.html|title=Stephen Miller Tests Positive for COVID-19|first=Matthew|last=Dessem|website=Slate|date=October 6, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007085319/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/stephen-millier-covid-19-positive-coronavirus-debate-prep-sessions.html|url-status=live}} According to The Wall Street Journal, Trump turned declined an offer by aides to appoint Miller as secretary of homeland security, not believing him to be leader material.{{Cite web |last=Ballhaus |first=Josh Dawsey and Rebecca |title=Stephen Miller’s Fingerprints Are on Everything in Trump’s Second Term |url=https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-c1e0e924 |access-date=2025-06-21 |website=WSJ |language=en-US}}

In the early days of Trump's presidency, Miller worked with Sessions, now Trump's nominee for attorney general, and Bannon, now Trump's chief strategist, to enact policies through executive orders to restrict immigration and crack down on sanctuary cities.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/president-trump-is-planning-to-sign-executive-orders-on-immigration-this-week/2017/01/24/aba22b7a-e287-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba_story.html |title=Trump to sign executive orders enabling construction of proposed border wall and targeting sanctuary cities |newspaper=The Washington Post |last1=Markon |first1=Jerry |last2=Costa |first2=Robert |last3=Hauslohner |first3=Abigail |date=January 25, 2017 |access-date=January 30, 2017 |archive-date=January 28, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170128065135/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/president-trump-is-planning-to-sign-executive-orders-on-immigration-this-week/2017/01/24/aba22b7a-e287-11e6-a453-19ec4b3d09ba_story.html |url-status=live }} Miller and Bannon preferred executive orders to legislation. They were involved in the formation of Executive Order 13769, which sought to restrict U.S. travel and immigration by citizens of seven Muslim countries, and suspend the United States Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP) for 120 days, while indefinitely suspending entry of Syrians to the United States.{{cite news |last=Bennett |first=Brian |date=January 29, 2017 |title=Travel ban is the clearest sign yet of Trump advisors' intent to reshape the country |url=https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-immigration-20170129-story.html |url-access=limited |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015207/https://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-trump-immigration-20170129-story.html |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |access-date=January 30, 2017 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |location=Los Angeles, California}}{{cite news |last=Savransky |first=Rebecca |date=January 30, 2017 |title=Scarborough singles out Trump aide Stephen Miller for 'power trip' |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316816-scarborough-singles-out-stephen-miller-for-power-trip-with-handling/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180617015206/https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/316816-scarborough-singles-out-stephen-miller-for-power-trip-with-handling |archive-date=June 17, 2018 |access-date=January 30, 2017 |newspaper=The Hill}}{{cite news |last1=Perez |first1=Evan |last2=Brown |first2=Pamela |last3=Liptak |first3=Kevin |date=January 30, 2017 |title=Inside the confusion of the Trump executive order and travel ban |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180218231509/https://www.cnn.com/2017/01/28/politics/donald-trump-travel-ban/ |archive-date=February 18, 2018 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |website=CNN}} Miller has been credited as the person behind the Trump administration's decision to reduce the number of refugees accepted into the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-stephen-miller-single-handedly-got-the-us-to-accept-fewer-refugees|title=How Stephen Miller Single-Handedly Got the U.S. to Accept Fewer Refugees|last=Blitzer|first=Jonathon|date=October 13, 2017|newspaper=The New Yorker|access-date=October 14, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190804025914/https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/how-stephen-miller-single-handedly-got-the-us-to-accept-fewer-refugees|archive-date=August 4, 2019|publisher=Condé Nast|location=New York City|issn=0028-792X}}{{Cite news|first1=Dan|last1=De Luce|first2=Julia|last2=Ainsley|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/stephen-miller-wins-again-haley-other-foes-excluded-immigration-meeting-n910776|title=Stephen Miller can't stop winning on immigration|website=NBC News|date=September 21, 2018|access-date=September 21, 2018|language=en-US|archive-date=September 21, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180921124016/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/stephen-miller-wins-again-haley-other-foes-excluded-immigration-meeting-n910776|url-status=live}}

Miller was seen as sharing an "ideological kinship" with Bannon, and had a "long collaboration" with him.{{Cite news |date=July 13, 2017 |title=Donald Trump's G20 speech owed a lot to Putin |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2017/07/13/donald-trumps-g20-speech-owed-a-lot-to-putin |url-access=registration |url-status=live |archive-url=https://archive.today/20191116070055/https://www.economist.com/europe/2017/07/13/donald-trumps-g20-speech-owed-a-lot-to-putin |archive-date=November 16, 2019 |newspaper=The Economist}} However, Miller distanced himself from Bannon in 2017 as Bannon fell out of favor with others in the White House.{{cite news |last1=Suebsaeng |first1=Asawin |date=August 16, 2017 |title=Steve Bannon's Ideological Allies Inside the White House Are Souring on Him |url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve-bannons-ideological-allies-inside-the-white-house-are-souring-on-him |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107195619/https://www.thedailybeast.com/steve-bannons-ideological-allies-inside-the-white-house-are-souring-on-him |archive-date=January 7, 2018 |access-date=January 13, 2018 |work=The Daily Beast}} Miller played an influential role in Trump's decision to fire FBI director James Comey in May 2017.{{Cite news|url=https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/23/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-family-separation/index.html|title=How Stephen Miller, the architect behind Trump's immigration policies, rose to power|last=Tatum|first=Sophie|work=CNN|access-date=June 23, 2018|archive-date=June 24, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624010716/https://edition.cnn.com/2018/06/23/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-family-separation/index.html|url-status=live}} Miller and Trump drafted a letter to Comey that was not sent after an internal review and opposition from White House counsel Don McGahn, but Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein was given a copy, after which he prepared his own letter to Comey, which was cited as the reason for firing Comey.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/trump-comey-firing-letter.html |title=Mueller Has Early Draft of Trump Letter Giving Reasons for Firing Comey |first1=Michael S.

|last1=Schmidt |first2=Maggie|last2=Haberman|authorlink2=Maggie Haberman |date=September 1, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627173710/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/01/us/politics/trump-comey-firing-letter.html |url-status=live }} In November 2017, Miller was interviewed by special counsel Robert Mueller in relation to his role in Comey's dismissal.{{cite news |url=https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/09/politics/stephen-miller-interviewed-special-counsel-russia-investigation/index.html |title=Mueller interviews top White House aide |first1=Pamela|last1=Brown |first2=Gloria|last2=Borger |first3=Evan|last3=Perez |date=November 9, 2017 |work=CNN |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627202041/https://www.cnn.com/2017/11/09/politics/stephen-miller-interviewed-special-counsel-russia-investigation/index.html |url-status=live }}

File:President Trump's First 100 Days- 69 (33573171263).jpg operation]]

In September 2017, The New York Times reported that Miller stopped the Trump administration from showing the public an internal study by the Department of Health and Human Services that found that refugees had a net positive effect on government revenues.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/politics/refugees-revenue-cost-report-trump.html|title=Trump Administration Rejects Study Showing Positive Impact of Refugees |last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|date=September 18, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=September 20, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180625112108/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/09/18/us/politics/refugees-revenue-cost-report-trump.html|archive-date=June 25, 2018|last2=Sengupta|first2=Somini|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|url-access=limited}}{{cite web |title=The Fiscal Costs of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program at the Federal, State, and Local Levels, from 2005-2014 (Draft) |url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2017/09/19/us/politics/document-Refugee-Report.html |publisher=Department of Health and Human Services |via=The New York Times |date=July 29, 2017}}{{void|Fabrickator|comment|Although the New York Times link for the story on the Trump administration rejecting the study includes a link for the draft report itself, the full text of the report may not be available through that link, and there may also be problems when accessing through an archive link. Also, this link remains accessible directly using the nytimes.com link without having to be a subscriber. }}{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/23/us/politics/trump-immigration.html|title=Stoking Fears, Trump Defied Bureaucracy to Advance Immigration Agenda|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|date=December 23, 2017|work=The New York Times|access-date=December 23, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20171226070243/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/23/us/politics/trump-immigration.html|archive-date=December 26, 2017|last2=Davis|first2=Julie Hirschfeld|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|author-link1=Michael D. Shear|author-link2=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|url-access=limited}} Miller insisted that only the costs of refugees be publicized, not the revenues refugees bring in.

In September 2017, Miller and other White House officials successfully pressured Trump to cancel Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA). In October 2017, Trump provided a list of immigration reform demands to Congress, asking for the construction of more wall along the Mexico–United States border, hiring 10,000 additional U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, tightened asylum policies, and the discontinuance of federal funds to sanctuary cities in exchange for any action on undocumented immigrants who arrived as minors. Those immigrants had been protected from deportation under the DACA policy until that policy's rescission. The New York Times reported that Miller and Sessions were among the Trump Administration officials who developed the demands.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/us/politics/white-house-daca.html |title=White House Makes Hard-Line Demands for Any 'Dreamers' Deal |first=Michael D. |last=Shear |authorlink=Michael D. Shear|date=October 8, 2017 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620192518/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/08/us/politics/white-house-daca.html |url-status=live }} On January 11, 2018, during an Oval Office meeting about immigration reform attended by Democratic Senator Dick Durbin and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, Miller invited anti-immigration Senators including Tom Cotton and David Perdue.

According to Chaos Under Heaven, a book by Josh Rogin, Miller was part of a group of officials that wanted Trump to "speed the downfall" of the Chinese Communist Party and that "believed in economic nationalism, the return of manufacturing from abroad, and the protection of domestic industries, even at the expense of free trade."{{Cite book |last1=Rogin |first1=Josh |author-link=Josh Rogin |title=Chaos Under Heaven: Trump, Xi, and the Battle for the Twenty-First Century |publisher=Mariner Books |year=2021 |isbn=9780358393245 |pages=27–28}} In early 2018, Miller proposed stop providing student visas to Chinese nationals, making it impossible for Chinese citizens to study in the United States. Miller argued that a ban was necessary to reduce Chinese espionage, but that another benefit was that it would hurt elite universities with staff and students critical of Trump. Within the Trump administration, Miller's idea gained support from trade advisor Peter Navarro, but also faced opposition, in particular from Terry Branstad, the ambassador to China, who argued that such a ban would harm US trade to China and hurt small American universities more than the elite ones.{{Cite news |last1=Sevastopulo |first1=Demetri |last2=Mitchell |first2=Tom |date=October 2, 2018 |title=US considered ban on student visas for Chinese nationals |url=https://www.ft.com/content/fc413158-c5f1-11e8-82bf-ab93d0a9b321 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190714222943/https://www.ft.com/content/fc413158-c5f1-11e8-82bf-ab93d0a9b321 |archive-date=July 14, 2019 |access-date=October 2, 2018 |website=Financial Times |language=en-GB}}

According to former Department of Homeland Security Miles Taylor, in April 2018, Miller argued with Paul F. Zukunft and advocated for a drone attack on a migrant ship heading for the US, saying people onboard were not protected under the US constitution as they were in international waters; a spokesperson for Miller denied the report.{{Cite news |last=Pengelly |first=Martin |date=2023-06-27 |title=Trump adviser suggested blowing up migrants’ boats with drones, book says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/books/2023/jun/27/trump-stephen-miller-migrants-boats-drone-attacks-book |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} In May 2018, it was reported Miller had attended a controversial meeting which included George Nader on behalf of two Arab princes, Wikistrat CEO Joel Zamel, Erik Prince, and Donald Trump Jr., on August 3, 2016.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html |title=Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election |first1=Mark|last1=Mazzetti|authorlink1=Mark Mazzetti |first2=Ronen|last2=Bergman|authorlink2=Ronen Bergman |first3=David D.|last3=Kirkpatrick|authorlink3=David D. Kirkpatrick |date=May 19, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |access-date=May 22, 2018 |archive-date=February 3, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200203212730/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/05/19/us/politics/trump-jr-saudi-uae-nader-prince-zamel.html |url-status=live }} The New York Times had also reported in November 2017 that Miller was in regular contact with George Papadopoulos during the campaign about his discussions with Russian government officials.{{cite news |last1=LaFraniere |first1=Sharon |last2=Kirkpatrick |first2=David D. |last3=Higgins |first3=Andrew |last4=Schwartz |first4=Michael |title=A London Meeting of an Unlikely Group: How a Trump Adviser Came to Learn of Clinton 'Dirt' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/russia-inquiry-trump.html |access-date=December 3, 2018 |work=The New York Times |date=November 10, 2017 |language=en |archive-date=November 30, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181130123047/https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/10/us/russia-inquiry-trump.html |url-status=live }}

Miller and Sessions were described as the chief champions of the Trump administration's decision to start to separate migrant children from their parents when they crossed the U.S. border.{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/us/politics/immigration-children-sessions-miller.html |title=How Anti-Immigration Passion Was Inflamed From the Fringe |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |authorlink1=Michael D. Shear |last2=Benner |first2=Katie |date=June 18, 2018 |access-date=June 20, 2018 |newspaper=The New York Times |archive-date=June 19, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180619232915/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/18/us/politics/immigration-children-sessions-miller.html |url-status=live}} Miller argued that such a policy would deter migrants from coming to the United States.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/16/us/politics/family-separation-trump.html|title=How Trump Came to Enforce a Practice of Separating Migrant Families|last1=Davis|first1=Julie Hirschfeld|date=June 16, 2018|newspaper=The New York Times|access-date=June 20, 2018|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20180619140707/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/16/us/politics/family-separation-trump.html|archive-date=June 19, 2018|last2=Shear|first2=Michael D.|author-link1=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|author-link2=Michael D. Shear|url-access=limited}} Miller held a meeting at the White House to pressure Department of Justice officials to prosecute border crossers as criminals, which was used as the basis for separating families. In April 2018, Miller and Gene Hamilton wrote a presidential memorandum directing agencies to end catch and release. They also wrote a letter by Attorney General Sessions, articulating a "zero tolerance" policy, which aimed to prosecute all adults who were arrested by DHS for illegal entry. Miller told the Times that voters would support the White House "90-10". After Miller gave an on-the-record interview to the Times, the White House requested that the Times not publish portions of it on its podcast, The Daily; the Times acceded to the request.{{cite news |url=https://thehill.com/homenews/media/393055-new-york-times-slammed-for-spiking-audio-of-stephen-millers-on-record-comments/ |title=New York Times slammed for spiking audio of Stephen Miller's on-record comments on child migration |last=Concha |first=Joe |date=June 19, 2018 |work=The Hill |access-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-date=June 20, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180620005059/http://thehill.com/homenews/media/393055-new-york-times-slammed-for-spiking-audio-of-stephen-millers-on-record-comments |url-status=live }}

In July 2018, senior White House official Jennifer Arangio was fired after she reportedly advocated that the United States remain in the Global Compact for Migration (a United Nations plan intended to "cover all dimensions of international migration in a holistic and comprehensive manner"{{Cite web|url=https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/migration-compact|title=Global compact for migration|date=April 5, 2017|website=Refugees and Migrants|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-date=June 12, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190612165511/https://refugeesmigrants.un.org/migration-compact|url-status=live}}), defended the State Department's refugee bureau when Miller sought to defund it, and corrected misleading information about refugees that Miller was presenting to Trump.{{cite news|url=https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/13/stephen-miller-united-nations-refugees-migration-white-house-944666/|title=White House Official Who Advocated for Refugees Sacked and Escorted From Office|magazine=Foreign Policy|language=en|access-date=July 14, 2018|archive-date=May 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520002835/https://foreignpolicy.com/2018/07/13/stephen-miller-united-nations-refugees-migration-white-house-944666/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|first=Nahal|last=Toosi|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/13/national-security-council-jennifer-arangio-ousted-719691|title=Another top NSC official ousted under Bolton|work=Politico|date=July 13, 2018|access-date=July 14, 2018|language=en|archive-date=May 30, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190530170319/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/07/13/national-security-council-jennifer-arangio-ousted-719691|url-status=live}}

In the lead-up to the 2018 midterm elections, Miller played an influential role in Trump's messaging, which focused on sowing fears about immigration.{{Cite news|first=Maggie|last=Haberman|authorlink=Maggie Haberman|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/us/politics/trump-stephen-miller-immigration.html|title=A Familiar Force Nurtures Trump's Instincts on Immigration: Stephen Miller|work=The New York Times |date=November 4, 2018|access-date=November 5, 2018|language=en|archive-date=November 5, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181105021005/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/11/04/us/politics/trump-stephen-miller-immigration.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|first=Nancy|last=Cook|url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/31/trump-immigration-birthright-citizenship-stephen-miller-border-security-952690|title=Trump's immigration push is Stephen Miller's dream come true|work=Politico|date=October 31, 2018|access-date=November 5, 2018|language=en|archive-date=November 6, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181106005036/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/10/31/trump-immigration-birthright-citizenship-stephen-miller-border-security-952690|url-status=live}} Trump's party lost 40 seats in the House in those elections, in part because, according to Vox writer Dara Lind, Trump and Miller's "closing argument" focusing on immigrants appealed solely to "white identity politics", which did not have majority support in the United States.{{cite web|first=Dara|last=Lind|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/7/18071762/midterm-elections-2018-results-trump-caravan|title=Trumpism doesn't win majorities. And Trump doesn't care.|website=Vox|publisher=Vox Media|location=New York City|date=November 7, 2018|access-date=December 17, 2018|archive-date=December 18, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181218054439/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/7/18071762/midterm-elections-2018-results-trump-caravan|url-status=live}} In January 2019, Miller reportedly reduced the number of immigrants who would receive protections as part of a proposed offer by Trump to grant protections for some immigrants in exchange for congressional support for funds to construct a border wall.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/us/politics/trump-immigration-conservatives-democrats.html|title=In Trump's Immigration Announcement, a Compromise Snubbed All Around|last=Davis|first=Julie Hirschfeld|authorlink=Julie Hirschfeld Davis|date=January 19, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=January 20, 2019|language=en-US|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 20, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190120052214/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/19/us/politics/trump-immigration-conservatives-democrats.html|url-status=live}}

Miller reportedly played a central role in Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen's resignation on April 7, 2019, as part of a larger department overhaul{{Cite news|first=Paula|last=Reid|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kirstjen-nielsen-resigning-dhs-secretary-expected-to-offer-resignation-today-live-updates-2019-04-07/|title=DHS Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen speaks for first time since resignation announcement|work=CBS News|date=April 7, 2019|access-date=April 9, 2019|archive-date=May 19, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190519214834/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kirstjen-nielsen-resigning-dhs-secretary-expected-to-offer-resignation-today-live-updates-2019-04-07/|url-status=live}} aimed at steering the Trump administration towards a "tougher" approach on immigration.{{Cite news|url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kirstjen-nielsen-resigns-dhs-chiefs-exit-comes-as-trump-eyes-tougher-approach-on-immigration-today-2019-04-07/|title=Nielsen's exit comes as Trump eyes 'tougher' approach on immigration|last=Montoya-Galvez|first=Camilo|date=April 7, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190520005447/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/kirstjen-nielsen-resigns-dhs-chiefs-exit-comes-as-trump-eyes-tougher-approach-on-immigration-today-2019-04-07/|archive-date=May 20, 2019|website=CBS News}} Nielsen had opposed a plan Miller supported whereby the Trump administration would carry out mass arrests of undocumented immigrant families in 10 major U.S. cities.{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/before-trumps-purge-at-dhs-top-officials-challenged-plan-for-mass-family-arrests/2019/05/13/d7cb91ce-75af-11e9-bd25-c989555e7766_story.html|title=Before Trump's purge at DHS, top officials challenged plan for mass family arrests|last1=Miroff|first1=Nick|date=May 13, 2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20190514004936/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/before-trumps-purge-at-dhs-top-officials-challenged-plan-for-mass-family-arrests/2019/05/13/d7cb91ce-75af-11e9-bd25-c989555e7766_story.html?noredirect=on|archive-date=May 14, 2019|last2=Dawsey|first2=Josh|author-link2=Josh Dawsey|url-access=limited}} Quartz reported that Miller had been purposely leaking information on border apprehensions and asylum seekers to the Washington Examiner so that the paper would publish alarming anti-immigration stories that criticized Nielsen.{{Cite web|url=https://qz.com/1589527/stephen-miller-is-behind-a-purge-at-homeland-security/|title=Trump's anti-immigration zealot Stephen Miller is behind the purge at Homeland Security|last1=Timmons|first1=Heather|website=Quartz|date=April 8, 2019 |language=en|access-date=May 19, 2019|archive-date=May 18, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518071959/https://qz.com/1589527/stephen-miller-is-behind-a-purge-at-homeland-security/|url-status=live}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/09/report-washington-examiner-was-used-undermine-dhs-boss-kirstjen-nielsen/|title=Report: Washington Examiner was used to undermine DHS boss Kirstjen Nielsen|last=Wemple|first=Erik|author-link=Eric Wemple|date=2019|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=May 19, 2019|archive-date=June 1, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190601030920/https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2019/04/09/report-washington-examiner-was-used-undermine-dhs-boss-kirstjen-nielsen/|url-status=live}} Nielsen's resignation was followed by a purge initiated by Miller in the DHS, which led to the removals of Ronald Vitiello, the acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Francis Cissna, director of Citizenship and Immigration Services. This allowed Miller to move loyalists into the agency such as Matthew Albence, who became the acting ICE director.

In the wake of the United States' assassination of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, Miller allegedly suggested "dipping [al-Baghdadi's head] in pig's blood and parading it around to warn other terrorists", according to former defense secretary Mark Esper in his 2022 book A Sacred Oath. Esper called Miller's idea a "war crime"; Miller denied that this took place.{{cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |authorlink1=Maggie Haberman |title=Trump Proposed Launching Missiles Into Mexico to 'Destroy the Drug Labs,' Esper Says |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/05/us/politics/mark-esper-book-trump.html |access-date=5 May 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=May 5, 2022}} While in the Trump administration, Miller met repeatedly with British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson, whom Miller described himself as a "huge fan" of. During the meetings, which were held off the White House grounds, Miller and Johnson "swapped speech-writing ideas and tips."{{Cite news|first1=Daniel|last1=Lippman|first2=Nahal|last2=Toosi|work=Politico|title=Boris and Donald: A very special relationship|date=December 13, 2019|url=https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/12/trump-boris-johnson-relationship-083732|access-date=April 10, 2020|archive-date=June 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200608220755/https://www.politico.com/news/2019/12/12/trump-boris-johnson-relationship-083732|url-status=live}} Miller opposed the October 2019 resignation of acting Secretary of Homeland Security Kevin McAleenan. In 2019, Miller started collaborating with Jared Kushner, who was given portfolio over immigration—with Miller writing the parts of Kushner's immigration plan that addressed asylum and family detention.

In 2020, during the COVID-19 pandemic, leaked conversations showed that Miller wanted to extend temporary border restrictions imposed because of the pandemic to restrict immigration in the long term.{{Cite news |first1=Nick |last1=Miroff |first2=Josh |last2=Dawsey |date=April 24, 2020 |title=Stephen Miller has long-term vision for Trump's 'temporary' immigration order, according to private call with supporters |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/stephen-miller-audio-immigration-coronavirus/2020/04/24/8eaf59ba-8631-11ea-9728-c74380d9d410_story.html |access-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-date=May 16, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200516144619/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/stephen-miller-audio-immigration-coronavirus/2020/04/24/8eaf59ba-8631-11ea-9728-c74380d9d410_story.html |url-status=live}} Emails showed that Miller had tried to use public health powers to implement border restrictions in 2019.{{Cite news|last1=Dickerson|first1=Caitlin|last2=Shear|first2=Michael D.|authorlink2=Michael D. Shear|date=May 3, 2020|title=Before Covid-19, Trump Aide Sought to Use Disease to Close Borders|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigration-stephen-miller-public-health.html|access-date=May 16, 2020|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=May 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515115749/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/03/us/coronavirus-immigration-stephen-miller-public-health.html|url-status=live}} Miller also advised Trump not to openly embrace mask-wearing to halt the spread of the coronavirus.{{Cite news|last1=Shear|first1=Michael D.|authorlink1=Michael D. Shear|last2=Haberman|first2=Maggie|authorlink2=Maggie Haberman|last3=Weiland|first3=Noah|last4=LaFraniere|first4=Sharon|last5=Mazzetti|first5=Mark|date=December 31, 2020|title=Trump's Focus as the Pandemic Raged: What Would It Mean for Him?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/12/31/us/politics/trump-coronavirus.html|access-date=January 1, 2021|issn=0362-4331}} According to The New York Times, in the spring of 2020, Miller requested that the Department of Homeland Security develop a plan to use American troops to seal the entire U.S. border with Mexico. Government officials estimated that such a plan would require the deployment of approximately 250,000 troops, or more than half of the active army, constituting the largest use of American military force within the country since the Civil War. Defense Secretary Mark Esper reportedly opposed the plan and it was eventually abandoned.{{cite news |first1=David E.|last1=Sanger|first2=Michael D.|last2=Shear|authorlink2=Michael D. Shear|first3=Eric|last3=Schmitt|title=Trump's Pentagon Chief Quashed Idea to Send 250,000 Troops to the Border |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/19/us/politics/trump-border.html |website=The New York Times |date=October 19, 2021 |access-date=October 20, 2021}}

During the 2020 election, Miller said that if Trump were reelected, the administration would seek to limit asylum, target sanctuary city policies, expand the "travel ban" and cut work visas.{{Cite web|first=Sahil|last=Kapur|title=Stephen Miller reveals Trump's immigration agenda if he's re-elected|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-adviser-stephen-miller-reveals-aggressive-second-term-immigration-agenda-n1245407|access-date=October 30, 2020|website=NBC News|language=en|archive-date=October 30, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030125933/https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/immigration/trump-adviser-stephen-miller-reveals-aggressive-second-term-immigration-agenda-n1245407|url-status=live}} He voiced support for the administration's third-country "Asylum Cooperative" agreements with Central American governments, among other policies, and pledged that it would pursue such policies with African and Asian countries if reelected.{{cite web | last1=Spagat | first1=Elliot | title=Top Trump adviser wants more nations to field asylum claims | url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-virus-outbreak-united-states-immigration-central-america-8e23710ebe0a24837cf2cc0d4147a877 | date=October 23, 2020 | work=Associated Press | access-date=November 7, 2020 | archive-date=November 1, 2020 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201101015245/https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-virus-outbreak-united-states-immigration-central-america-8e23710ebe0a24837cf2cc0d4147a877 | url-status=live }}

{{Conservatism US|expanded=activists}}

After Trump lost the 2020 election and failed to get the result overturned in courts or state legislatures, on December 14, Miller described on television a plan to send "alternate" slates of electors to Congress.{{cite news |last1=Langlois |first1=Shawn |title=Trump adviser pushes for 'alternate' electors as Electoral College members gather to lock in Biden win |url=https://www.marketwatch.com/story/trump-adviser-continues-to-push-for-alternate-slate-of-electors-as-electoral-college-members-gather-to-lock-in-biden-win-11607969100 |website=MarketWatch |date=December 14, 2020}} That day, as the official Electoral College votes were being tallied, groups of self-appointed Republican "alternate electors" met in seven swing states and drafted fraudulent certificates of ascertainment. Since these alternate slates were not signed by the governors or secretaries of state of the states they claim to represent, they had no legal status, but could have been introduced as challenges to the true results when Congress counted the electoral votes on January 6, 2021. The watchdog group American Oversight published the documents in March 2021, but they received little attention until January 2022, when it was reported that the January 6 committee was investigating them. Michigan attorney general Dana Nessel announced in January 2022 that after a months-long investigation she had asked the U.S. Justice Department to open a criminal investigation.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/why-trumps-latest-electoral-college-ploy-is-doomed-to-fail/2020/12/14/49df80f0-3e5d-11eb-b58b-1623f6267960_story.html|title=Why Trump's latest Electoral College ploy is doomed to fail|last=Riccardi|first=Nicholas|date=December 14, 2020|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=December 15, 2020|archive-date=December 15, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201215001422/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/why-trumps-latest-electoral-college-ploy-is-doomed-to-fail/2020/12/14/49df80f0-3e5d-11eb-b58b-1623f6267960_story.html|url-status=dead}}{{cite news |title=Trump allies' fake Electoral College certificates offer fresh insights about plot to overturn Biden's victory |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/01/12/politics/trump-overturn-2020-election-fake-electoral-college/index.html |website=CNN |date=January 12, 2022|first1=Zachary|last1=Cohen|first2=Marshall|last2=Cohen}}{{cite news |title=American Oversight obtains seven phony certificates of pro-Trump electors |url=https://www.americanoversight.org/american-oversight-obtains-seven-phony-certificates-of-pro-trump-electors |work=American Oversight |date=March 2, 2021}}{{cite news |last1=Eggert |first1=David |title=Michigan AG asks feds to investigate fake GOP electors |url=https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-michigan-elections-electoral-college-criminal-investigations-8a0454f0a28fd3f5903fa3ab962f764b |work=Associated Press |date=January 14, 2022}}

On January 6, Trump held a rally to support his false claim that the 2020 election had been stolen. Miller prepared the remarks that Trump delivered at the rally. During and after the speech, many of the attendees walked to the U.S. Capitol and stormed it.{{cite web|last=Zurcher|first=Anthony|title=Trump impeachment trial: What verdict means for Trump, Biden and America|website=BBC News|date=February 13, 2021|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-56057849|access-date=January 15, 2022}}{{Cite news|first1=Philip|last1=Rucker|first2=Carol D.|last2=Moennig|date=July 15, 2021|title='I Alone Can Fix It' book excerpt: The inside story of Trump's defiance and inaction on Jan. 6|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2021/07/15/jan-6-i-alone-can-fix-it-book-excerpt/|access-date=July 16, 2021|newspaper=The Washington Post|language=en}}

In November 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center acquired more than 900 emails Miller sent Breitbart News writer Katie McHugh between 2015 and 2016. The emails became the basis for an exposé that showed that Miller had enthusiastically pushed the views of white nationalist publications such as American Renaissance and VDARE, as well as the far-right conspiracy website Infowars, and promoted The Camp of the Saints, a French novel circulating among neo-Nazis, shaping both White House policy and Breitbart{{'}}s coverage of racial politics.{{Cite web|url=https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/12/stephen-millers-affinity-white-nationalism-revealed-leaked-emails|title=Stephen Miller's Affinity for White Nationalism Revealed in Leaked Emails|last=Hayden|first=Michael Edison|date=November 12, 2019|website=Hatewatch|publisher=Southern Poverty Law Center|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113004100/https://www.splcenter.org/hatewatch/2019/11/12/stephen-millers-affinity-white-nationalism-revealed-leaked-emails|archive-date=November 13, 2019|access-date=November 13, 2019}}{{cite news|last=Belware|first=Kim|date=November 13, 2019|title=Leaked Stephen Miller emails show Trump's point man on immigration promoted white nationalism, SPLC reports|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/12/leaked-stephen-miller-emails-suggest-trumps-point-man-immigration-promoted-white-nationalism/|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=November 14, 2019|archive-date=November 13, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113032544/https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2019/11/12/leaked-stephen-miller-emails-suggest-trumps-point-man-immigration-promoted-white-nationalism/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|first=Jean|last=Guerrero|date=November 14, 2019|title=Stephen Miller And White Nationalism|url=https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/779208233/stephen-miller-and-white-nationalism|work=NPR|access-date=November 14, 2019|archive-date=November 15, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115091738/https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/779208233/stephen-miller-and-white-nationalism|url-status=live}}{{cite news |last1=Miroff |first1=Nick |last2=Homel |first2=the Department of |title=Under secret Stephen Miller plan, ICE to use data on migrant children to expand deportation efforts |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/under-secret-stephen-miller-plan-ice-to-use-data-on-migrant-children-to-expand-deportation-efforts/2019/12/20/36975b34-22a8-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191221000259/https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/under-secret-stephen-miller-plan-ice-to-use-data-on-migrant-children-to-expand-deportation-efforts/2019/12/20/36975b34-22a8-11ea-bed5-880264cc91a9_story.html |archive-date=December 21, 2019 |access-date=January 2, 2020 |newspaper=The Washington Post |language=en-US}} In response to the exposé, White House press secretary Stephanie Grisham called the SPLC an "utterly discredited, long-debunked far-left smear organization."{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-white-nationalism.html|title=Report Details How Stephen Miller Shared Theories Favored by White Nationalists|last=Rogers|first=Katie|date=November 13, 2019|work=The New York Times|access-date=November 13, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20191114025152/https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-white-nationalism.html|archive-date=November 14, 2019|url-access=limited}} More than 80 Democratic members of Congress called for Miller's resignation in light of his emails.{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stephen-miller-resign-70-congressmembers-say_n_5dcdffdde4b01f982eff2a24|title=Over 80 Members Of Congress To Stephen Miller: Resign From White House Now|last=Mathias|first=Christopher|date=November 15, 2019|work=The Huffington Post|access-date=November 15, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191116071957/https://www.huffpost.com/entry/stephen-miller-resign-70-congressmembers-say_n_5dcdffdde4b01f982eff2a24|archive-date=November 16, 2019}}{{Cite news|last=Cummings|first=William|date=November 14, 2019|title=Democrats call Stephen Miller 'white nationalist,' ask for resignation after SPLC report|work=USA Today|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/14/democratic-caucus-leaders-want-stephen-miller-resignation/4192405002/|url-status=live|access-date=July 8, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200302083021/https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2019/11/14/democratic-caucus-leaders-want-stephen-miller-resignation/4192405002/|archive-date=March 2, 2020|quote="It's clearer than ever that Stephen Miller is a far-right white nationalist with a racist and xenophobic worldview. His beliefs are appalling, indefensible, and completely at odds with public service," said the statement from Reps. Mark Pocan, Pramila Jayapal, Karen Bass, Joaquin Castro and Judy Chu.}}{{Cite news|url=https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/13/20962813/aoc-ilhan-omar-stephen-miller-resignation-emails-white-supremacist-articles|title=AOC and Ilhan Omar call for Stephen Miller's resignation over his promotion of white supremacist articles|last=Collins|first=Sean|date=November 13, 2019|work=Vox|access-date=November 13, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191113165749/https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/11/13/20962813/aoc-ilhan-omar-stephen-miller-resignation-emails-white-supremacist-articles/|archive-date=November 13, 2019|quote="Trump's architect of mass human rights abuses at the border … has been exposed as a bonafide white nationalist," Ocasio-Cortez wrote on Twitter. ... On Tuesday, [Ilhan Omar] wrote, "As I said earlier this year: Stephen Miller is a white nationalist. ... Miller needs to step down. Now." ... Other Democratic leaders, including presidential candidates Sen. Bernie Sanders and former Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julián Castro have censured Miller, with Castro calling him a "Neo-Nazi" who is "a shame to our nation."}} On November 13, Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-New York) started a petition that had reached more than 20,000 signatures by November 16.{{Cite news|url=https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-stephen-miller-petition-resign-1471584|title=Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Starts Petition for 'White Nationalist' Stephen Miller to Resign from White House After Private Email Leak|last=Kwong|first=Jessica|date=November 13, 2019|work=Newsweek|access-date=November 16, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114043551/https://www.newsweek.com/aoc-stephen-miller-petition-resign-1471584|archive-date=November 14, 2019}} According to The Daily Beast, seven "senior Trump administration officials with knowledge of Miller's standing with the president and top staffers have all individually told The Daily Beast that the story did not endanger Miller's position, or change Trump's favorable view of him. Two of them literally laughed at the mere suggestion that the Hatewatch exposé could have toppled or hobbled the top Trump adviser."{{Cite news|url=https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-miller-can-push-racist-crap-but-the-president-has-his-back|title=Stephen Miller Can Push Racist Crap, but 'The President Has His Back'|last=Suebsaeng|first=Asawin|date=November 16, 2019|work=The Daily Beast|access-date=November 16, 2019|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20191116205954/https://www.thedailybeast.com/stephen-miller-can-push-racist-crap-but-the-president-has-his-back|archive-date=November 16, 2019}} In July 2020, Miller was added on the Southern Poverty Law Center's list of extremists.{{cite web |last1=Walker |first1=Chris |date=July 16, 2020 |title=Southern Poverty Law Center Adds Stephen Miller to Its List of Extremists |url=https://truthout.org/articles/southern-poverty-law-center-adds-stephen-miller-to-its-list-of-extremists/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200716233248/https://truthout.org/articles/southern-poverty-law-center-adds-stephen-miller-to-its-list-of-extremists/ |archive-date=July 16, 2020 |access-date=July 17, 2020 |website=Truthout}}{{cite web |title=Stephen Miller |url=https://www.splcenter.org/fighting-hate/extremist-files/individual/stephen-miller}}

In April 2019, Representative Ilhan Omar called Miller a white nationalist as part of her comments on the Department of Homeland Security overhaul, which led to a strong response from several Republicans, including Representative Lee Zeldin and Donald Trump Jr., who accused her of anti-Semitism as Miller is Jewish.{{cite news |last=Flynn |first=Meagan |date=April 9, 2019 |title=Rep. Ilhan Omar called Stephen Miller a 'white nationalist.' GOP critics accused her of anti-Semitism. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/09/rep-ilhan-omar-called-stephen-miller-white-nationalist-gop-critics-accused-her-anti-semitism/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190409181157/https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/04/09/rep-ilhan-omar-called-stephen-miller-white-nationalist-gop-critics-accused-her-anti-semitism/ |archive-date=April 9, 2019 |access-date=April 9, 2019 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} Following the exposé by the Southern Poverty Law Center in November 2019, Omar reshared the April tweet in which she had called Miller a white nationalist, adding that "now we have the emails to prove it."{{Cite web |last=Wyrich |first=Andrew |date=November 13, 2019 |title=Ilhan Omar says Stephen Miller emails prove he's a 'white nationalist |url=https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/ilhan-omar-stephen-miller/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191114134921/https://www.dailydot.com/layer8/ilhan-omar-stephen-miller/ |archive-date=November 14, 2019 |access-date=November 16, 2019 |website=The Daily Dot}}{{Cite web |last=Noor |first=Poppy |date=November 13, 2019 |title=After Republican attacks, Ilhan Omar has been proved right: Stephen Miller is a white nationalist |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/13/stephen-miller-white-nationalist-emails-ilhan-omar |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191115040951/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2019/nov/13/stephen-miller-white-nationalist-emails-ilhan-omar |archive-date=November 15, 2019 |access-date=November 16, 2019 |website=The Guardian}}

On April{{nbsp}}7, 2021, Miller launched the America First Legal Foundation, a conservative legal organization.{{Cite news |last1=Kendall |first1=Brent |date=April 7, 2021 |title=WSJ News Exclusive | Stephen Miller's Next Act Finds a Stage in the Courts |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/stephen-millers-next-act-finds-a-stage-in-the-courts-11617793216 |newspaper=The Wall Street Journal}}{{Cite web |last=Quinn |first=Melissa |date=April 7, 2021 |title=Ex-Trump aide Stephen Miller launches legal group to fight Democrats in the courts |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephen-miller-legal-group-democratic-lawsuits/ |website=CBS News}} The foundation was previously listed as a supporter of Project 2025 and appeared on its advisory board, though the group later asked to be removed from it. Miller himself appeared on a promotional video for Project 2025.{{Cite news |last=Leingang |first=Rachel |date=2024-12-09 |title=Project 2025: the Trump picks with ties to ultra-rightwing policy manifesto |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/22/project-2025-trump-picks |access-date=2024-12-16 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}} The foundation has filed dozens of lawsuits regarding topics including immigration, education, affirmative action and transgender rights.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-15 |title=Stephen Miller re-emerges as an 'untouchable' force in Trump's White House |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/stephen-miller-untouchable-force-trump-white-house-rcna206180 |access-date=2025-05-16 |website=NBC News |language=en}} On September{{nbsp}}8, 2022, Miller and Brian Jack were subpoenaed by a federal grand jury investigating attempts to overturn the 2020 United States presidential election, with special focus on the January 6 United States Capitol attack.{{Cite news |last1=Haberman |first1=Maggie |last2=Goldman |first2=Adam |last3=Feuer |first3=Alan |date=September 9, 2022 |title=Two Top Trump Political Aides Among Those Subpoenaed in Jan. 6 Case |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/09/us/politics/jan-6-trump-political-aides-subpoena.html |access-date=September 12, 2022 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |authorlink1=Maggie Haberman |authorlink2=Adam Goldman}}

In 2023, Miller was key to pushing Republican lawmakers to insert tougher border policies into a spending bill.{{Cite news |last1=Swan |first1=Jonathan |last2=Haberman |first2=Maggie |last3=Fahrenthold |first3=David A. |last4=Savage |first4=Charlie |date=2025-01-16 |title=Stephen Miller, Channeling Trump, Has Built More Power Than Ever |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/16/us/politics/stephen-miller-trump.html |access-date=2025-02-18 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} In 2024, Miller focused significantly on killing a bipartisan border bill proposed by by Republican Senator James Lankford, regularly calling House Speaker Mike Johnson. During the Trump's 2024 presidential campaign, Miller pushed him to focus more on immigration. On October{{nbsp}}27, 2024, Miller gave a speech at the Donald Trump campaign rally in Madison Square Garden, where he said Trump would "stand up and say the cartels are gone, the criminal migrants are gone, the gangs are gone, America is for Americans and Americans only".{{Cite news |last=Oladipo |first=Gloria |date=2024-10-31 |title=Six racist and bigoted comments you might have missed from Trump's New York rally |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/oct/31/six-racist-bigoted-comments-trump-madison-square-garden |access-date=2024-11-11 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite news |last=Astor |first=Maggie |date=2024-10-28 |title=The Misogynistic, Bigoted and Crude Rally Remarks Trump Hasn’t Disavowed |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/28/us/politics/trump-msg-rally-speaker-remarks.html |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

File:The White House - 54452196706.jpg on April 14, 2025]]

File:Donald Trump state visit to Saudi Arabia, 2025-05-13 P20250513DT-0477.jpg and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025]]

On November 13, 2024, Trump confirmed Miller would serve as deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security advisor.{{Cite web |last=Treene |first=Alayna |date=November 11, 2024 |title=Trump expected to announce Stephen Miller as White House deputy chief of staff for policy |url=https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/trump-election-house-11-11-24#cm3d5sttk00053b6m0grsiibj |access-date=November 11, 2024 |publisher=CNN}}{{Cite news |last=Ordoñez |first=Franco |date=13 November 2024 |title=Stephen Miller will be Trump's homeland security advisor in new White House role |url=https://www.npr.org/2024/11/11/g-s1-33741/trump-stephen-miller-deputy-chief-of-staff-immigration-policy-deportations |access-date=13 November 2024 |work=NPR}} Miller met with Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg in January 2025, pushing him to adopt policies more favorable to Trump. He has been described as having developed a close relationship with Elon Musk. Miller has been described as one of the most powerful officials during Trump's second term.{{Cite news |last1=Zeleny |first1=Jeff |last2=Treene |first2=Alayna |last3=Liptak |first3=Kevin |date=10 February 2025 |title=From immigration to DOGE, Stephen Miller is more powerful in the White House than ever |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/10/politics/stephen-miller-white-house/index.html |access-date=18 February 2025 |work=CNN}} According to The Wall Street Journal in June 2025, Miller "has written or edited every executive order that Trump has signed". The Journal reported that Miller's portfoilo covered "almost every issue Trump is interested in" and that "some posts at cabinet agencies have been described by administration officials as reporting directly to Miller, effectively bypassing cabinet secretaries".

Miller has been a key official behind Trump administration's "flood the zone" strategy, aiming to overwhelm Trump's opponents with an onslaught of new directives and policy announcements. Miller drafted or coordinated most of the executive orders signed by Trump on his first day in office, including attempts to end birthright citizenship, withdrawing the United States from the World Health Organization and the designation of Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations.{{Cite news |last1=Arnsdorf |first1=Isaac |last2=Morse |first2=Clara Ence |date=25 January 2025 |title=Trump's first-week strategy: 'Flood the zone.' Repeat. |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2025/01/25/trump-week-one-flood-the-zone/ |access-date=30 January 2025 |newspaper=The Washington Post}} In February 2025, Miller and Peter Navarro were leading officials in the economic discussions regarding the imposition of tariffs on Canada, China and Mexico.{{Cite news |last=Donnan |first=Shawn |date=3 February 2025 |title=How Trump's Tariffs Aim a Wrecking Ball at the Economy of the Americas |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-02-02/who-wins-in-a-trade-war-how-trump-tariffs-threaten-companies-us-growth |access-date=3 February 2025 |work=Bloomberg News}}

Miller has been given significant influence over the Department of Justice, with Attorney General Pam Bondi taking a largely implementing role.{{Cite news |last=Thrush |first=Glenn |date=2025-05-12 |title=As White House Steers Justice Dept., Bondi Embraces Role of TV Messenger |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/12/us/politics/pam-bondi-trump-justice-dept.html |access-date=2025-05-16 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}} Miller has criticized federal judges as "Marxist judges" and claimed they were carrying out a "judicial coup" by restricting the powers of the US president. In March 2025, after a federal judge ordered the Trump administration to return back flights of deported migrants headed to El Salvador, Miller pushed for the flights to continue. In April 2025, Miller became a leading official in the Trump administration's actions against higher education, revoking federal funding to universities to demand policy changes.{{Cite web |last=Goodman |first=Jasper |date=2025-04-15 |title=Why Harvard is standing its ground against Trump |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/15/harvard-resist-trump-wealth-university-00291919 |access-date=2025-04-20 |website=POLITICO |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Bender |first=Michael C. |last2=Blinder |first2=Alan |last3=Swan |first3=Jonathan |date=2025-04-14 |title=Inside Trump’s Pressure Campaign on Universities |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/04/14/us/politics/trump-pressure-universities.html |access-date=2025-04-20 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}

In May 2025, Miller said regarding immigration cases that "the writ of habeas corpus can be suspended in a time of invasion", and that the Trump administration was "actively looking at" carrying out such a suspension, depending on "whether the courts do the right thing or not"; Article One of the United States Constitution forbids such a suspension "unless when in cases of rebellion or invasion the public safety may require it."{{cite news |last1=Watson |first1=Kathryn |title=Trump administration "actively looking" at suspending habeas corpus to deport migrants, Stephen Miller says |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/stephen-miller-says-trump-administration-actively-looking-at-suspending-habeas-corpus-to-deport-migrants/ |access-date=May 10, 2025 |work=CBS News |date=May 9, 2025}} He later visited the headquarters of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement in May, calling for officials to increase the pace of deportations.{{Cite news |last=Politi |first=James |date=2025-06-10 |title=Stephen Miller: the architect of Donald Trump’s hardline immigration policy |url=https://www.ft.com/content/de0f7cd8-058c-4a90-a981-84760e69d37d |access-date=2025-06-11 |work=Financial Times}} Miller and Secretary of State Marco Rubio were involved in the preparations to revoke visas of Chinese students in the United States and increase restrictions on them.{{Cite web |date=2025-05-30 |title=The Chinese student crackdown years in the making |url=https://www.politico.com/news/2025/05/30/trump-chinese-student-visa-crackdown-backstory-00375426 |access-date=2025-05-30 |website=Politico |language=en}} Later in May, Rubio announced the U.S. government would "aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields" and also announced the U.S. would increase scrutiny of all future visa applications from China and Hong Kong.{{Cite news |last=Chazan |first=Guy |last2=Sevastopulo |first2=Demetri |last3=Stacey |first3=Stephanie |last4=Fedor |first4=Lauren |last5=Pooler |first5=Michael |date=2025-05-29 |title=US to ‘aggressively’ revoke visas of Chinese students |url=https://www.ft.com/content/6628727d-69b6-4d45-938f-0c45578f4599 |access-date=2025-05-30 |work=Financial Times}} Miller coordinated the federal government response to the June 2025 Los Angeles protests, giving orders to agencies including the Department of Defense.

On February 8, 2016, Miller participated in an interview with InfoWars, during which he praised the site and its owner, Alex Jones, for its coverage of immigration and the Trans-Pacific Partnership.{{cite web|first=Eric|last=Hanonoki|website=Media Matters|title=A Guide To Donald Trump's Relationship With Alex Jones|date=May 7, 2016|url=https://www.mediamatters.org/donald-trump/guide-donald-trumps-relationship-alex-jones}}

In a February 2017 appearance on the CBS Face the Nation, Miller criticized the federal courts for blocking Trump's travel ban, accusing the judiciary of having "taken far too much power and become, in many cases, a supreme branch of government ... Our opponents, the media and the whole world will soon see as we begin to take further actions, that the powers of the president to protect our country are very substantial and will not be questioned."{{cite news |first=Aaron |last=Blake |title=Stephen Miller's authoritarian declaration: Trump's national security actions 'will not be questioned' |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/13/stephen-millers-audacious-controversial-declaration-trumps-national-security-actions-will-not-be-questioned/ |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=February 13, 2017 |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=February 13, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170213221452/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-fix/wp/2017/02/13/stephen-millers-audacious-controversial-declaration-trumps-national-security-actions-will-not-be-questioned/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |first=Molly |last=Redden |title=Trump powers 'will not be questioned' on immigration, senior official says |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/12/trump-administration-considering-narrower-travel-ban |newspaper=The Guardian|date=February 12, 2017 |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=May 2, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190502125955/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/feb/12/trump-administration-considering-narrower-travel-ban |url-status=live }} Miller's assertion was met with criticism from legal experts, such as Ilya Shapiro of the Cato Institute (who said that the administration's comments could undercut public confidence in the judiciary) and Cornell Law School professor Jens David Ohlin (who said that the statement showed "an absurd lack of appreciation for the separation of powers" set forth in the Constitution).{{cite news |first1=Doina |last1=Chiacu |first2=Julia |last2=Harte |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usas-trump-immigration-idUSKBN15R0O3 |title=White House official attacks court after legal setbacks on immigration |work=Reuters |date=February 12, 2017 |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-date=August 3, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170803010250/https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usas-trump-immigration-idUSKBN15R0O3 |url-status=live }} In the same appearance, Miller falsely said there was significant voter fraud in the 2016 presidential election and that "thousands of illegal voters were bused in" to New Hampshire. Miller did not provide any evidence in support of the statements;{{cite news |last=Sanders |first=Katie |date=February 12, 2017 |title=White House senior adviser repeats baseless claim about busing illegal voters in New Hampshire |url=https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/feb/12/stephen-miller/white-house-senior-adviser-repeats-baseless-claim-/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180531022100/https://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/statements/2017/feb/12/stephen-miller/white-house-senior-adviser-repeats-baseless-claim-/ |archive-date=May 31, 2018 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |publisher=PolitiFact}} The Washington Post{{'}}s Glenn Kessler found that Miller has on multiple occasions made false or unsubstantiated claims regarding electoral fraud.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/12/stephen-millers-bushels-of-pinocchios-for-false-voter-fraud-claims|title=Stephen Miller's bushels of Pinocchios for false voter-fraud claims|last=Kessler|first=Glenn|date=February 12, 2017|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=February 12, 2017|url-status=live|archive-url=https://archive.today/20170213153154/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/02/12/stephen-millers-bushels-of-pinocchios-for-false-voter-fraud-claims/|archive-date=February 13, 2017|author-link=Glenn Kessler (journalist)|url-access=limited}}

On January 7, 2018, Miller appeared on Jake Tapper's State of the Union on CNN. In the course of the interview, Miller called Steve Bannon's comments about the Trump Tower meeting in Michael Wolff's book Fire and Fury "grotesque". Miller then went on to state, "The president is a political genius... who took down the Bush dynasty, who took down the Clinton dynasty, who took down the entire media complex". Tapper accused Miller of dodging questions, while Miller questioned the legitimacy of CNN as a news broadcaster, and as the interview became more contentious, with both participants talking over each other, Tapper ended the interview and continued to the next news story.{{cite news|last1=Manchester|first1=Julia|title=Dramatic exchange between White House's Miller, CNN's Tapper debated online|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/367818-dramatic-exchange-between-white-houses-miller-cnns-tapper/|website=The Hill|date=January 7, 2018|access-date=January 7, 2018|archive-date=January 8, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108020228/http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/367818-dramatic-exchange-between-white-houses-miller-cnns-tapper|url-status=live}}{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/07/stephen-miller-tapper-wolff-book-trump-327159?lo=ap_a1 |website=Politico |date=January 7, 2018 |title=White House adviser Stephen Miller unloads on CNN |access-date=January 7, 2018 |first=Ian |last=Kullgren |quote=White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller unloaded on CNN host Jake Tapper on Sunday — trashing Michael Wolff as a "garbage author of a garbage book," calling Steve Bannon an "angry and vindictive person" and accusing CNN of "sticking knives" into President Donald Trump's allies. |archive-date=January 17, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180117131420/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/01/07/stephen-miller-tapper-wolff-book-trump-327159?lo=ap_a1 |url-status=live }}{{cite news | last=Hart | first=Benjamin | title=Jake Tapper Cuts Off Stephen Miller After Deeply Strange Interview | magazine=New York Magazine | date=January 7, 2018 | url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/jake-tapper-cuts-off-stephen-miller-after-strange-interview.html | access-date=January 8, 2018 | archive-date=January 7, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180107192922/http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2018/01/jake-tapper-cuts-off-stephen-miller-after-strange-interview.html | url-status=live }} After the interview was over, Miller refused to leave the CNN studio and had to be escorted out by security.{{cite news | last=Lopez | first=Linette | title=Stephen Miller had to be escorted off CNN's set after his interview with Jake Tapper went off the rails | website=Business Insider | date=January 7, 2018 | url=http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-miller-escorted-off-cnn-2018-1 | access-date=January 8, 2018 | archive-date=January 8, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108013315/http://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-miller-escorted-off-cnn-2018-1 | url-status=live }}

In February 2019, as a controversy arose from a declaration of national emergency by Trump in order to fund building a wall along the southern border with Mexico that had been denied by Congress, Miller defended the declaration during a televised interview by Chris Wallace.{{cite news|first=Alex|last=Howard|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/02/17/answer-my-question-fox-news-host-grills-defiant-stephen-miller-trumps-national-emergency/?noredirect=on&wpmm=1/|title='Answer my question': Fox anchor grills defiant Stephen Miller on Trump's national emergency|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=February 17, 2019|access-date=December 21, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221173005/https://www.washingtonpost.com/arts-entertainment/2019/02/17/answer-my-question-fox-news-host-grills-defiant-stephen-miller-trumps-national-emergency/?noredirect=on&wpisrc=nl_headlines&wpmm=1%2F|url-status=live}}

On August 2, 2017, Miller had a heated exchange with CNN's Jim Acosta at the White House daily briefing regarding the Trump administration's support for the RAISE Act to sharply limit legal immigration and favor immigrants with high English proficiency.{{cite magazine|first=Lisa|last=Segarra|date=August 7, 2017|url=https://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/|title=Find Out If President Trump Would Let You Immigrate to America|magazine=Time|access-date=August 8, 2017|archive-date=August 8, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170808132244/http://time.com/4887574/trump-raise-act-immigration/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Swenson|first=Kyle|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/03/acosta-versus-miller-a-lurking-ideological-conflict-about-the-statue-of-liberty/|title=Acosta vs. Miller: A lurking ideological conflict about the Statue of Liberty|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=August 3, 2017|access-date=August 12, 2017|quote=And Miller is right about the poem. 'New Colossus' was not part of the original statue built by the French and given to the American people as a gift to celebrate the country's centennial. Poet Emma Lazarus was asked to compose the poem in 1883 as part of a fundraising effort to build the statue's base. ... Lazarus's words infused the gracious monument with an immigration message—regardless of what the original statue was meant to represent. That additional meaning riles up a particular slice of the right.|archive-date=July 31, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180731120447/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/08/03/acosta-versus-miller-a-lurking-ideological-conflict-about-the-statue-of-liberty/|url-status=live}} Acosta said that the proposal was at odds with American traditions concerning immigration and said that the Statue of Liberty welcomes immigrants to the U.S., invoking verses from Emma Lazarus's "The New Colossus". Miller disputed the connection between the Statue of Liberty and immigration, pointing out that "the poem that you're referring to, that was added later, is not actually a part of the original Statue of Liberty." Miller added that immigration has "ebbed and flowed" throughout American history and asked how many immigrants the U.S. had to accept annually to "meet Jim Acosta's definition of the Statue of Liberty law of the land."{{cite news |last=Lee |first=Michelle Ye Hee |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/08/fact-checking-the-stephen-miller-jim-acosta-exchange-on-immigration/ |title=Fact-checking the Stephen Miller-Jim Acosta exchange on immigration |newspaper=The Washington Post |date=August 8, 2017 |access-date=August 12, 2017 |archive-date=August 10, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170810092325/https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/fact-checker/wp/2017/08/08/fact-checking-the-stephen-miller-jim-acosta-exchange-on-immigration/ |url-status=live }}

In their coverage, multiple publications (such as The Washington Post, Washington Monthly and U.S. News & World Report) commented that the distinction Miller made between the Statue of Liberty and Lazarus's poem has been a popular talking point among the white supremacist segments of the alt-right.{{cite news |first=Hillel |last=Italie |title=Miller Comments on Lazarus Poem Echo Far-Right Opinions |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york/articles/2017-08-03/miller-comments-on-lazarus-poem-echo-far-right-opinions |work=U.S. News & World Report |date=August 3, 2017 |access-date=January 26, 2018 |archive-date=January 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127143136/https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/new-york/articles/2017-08-03/miller-comments-on-lazarus-poem-echo-far-right-opinions |url-status=live }}{{cite news |first=Nancy |last=LeTourneau |title=Stephen Miller's Dog Whistles to White Nationalists |url=https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/08/04/stephen-millers-dog-whistles-to-white-nationalists/ |work=Washington Monthly |date=August 4, 2017 |access-date=January 26, 2018 |archive-date=January 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180127084126/https://washingtonmonthly.com/2017/08/04/stephen-millers-dog-whistles-to-white-nationalists/ |url-status=live }} The Post{{'}}s Michelle Ye Hee Lee stated that "Neither got it quite right about the Statue of Liberty ... While the poem itself was not a part of the original statue, it actually was commissioned in 1883 to help raise funds for the pedestal" and "gave another layer of meaning to the statue beyond its abolitionist message."

{{Expand section|date=June 2025}}

Miller's politics have been described as far-right and anti-immigration.{{cite news |last=Kranz |first=Michal |date=January 22, 2018 |title=How a 32-year-old far right darling became the man who writes Trump's biggest speeches — and the one person people keep blaming for the shutdown |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-stephen-miller-trump-speechwriter-immigration-adviser-2018-1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190408233753/http://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-stephen-miller-trump-speechwriter-immigration-adviser-2018-1 |archive-date=April 8, 2019 |access-date=February 19, 2018 |work=Business Insider |publisher=Insider Inc. |location=New York City}}{{cite news |last=May |first=Charlie |date=February 19, 2018 |title=Lindsey Graham slams Stephen Miller, says "White House staff has been pretty unreliable" |url=https://www.salon.com/2018/01/21/lindsey-graham-slams-stephen-miller-says-white-house-staff-has-been-pretty-unreliable |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190518173534/https://www.salon.com/2018/01/21/lindsey-graham-slams-stephen-miller-says-white-house-staff-has-been-pretty-unreliable/ |archive-date=May 18, 2019 |work=Salon |location=San Francisco, California}} Miller rejects the view that immigration strengthens the United States.

During the first Trump term he initially was given responsibility for setting all domestic policy, but quickly assumed responsibility for immigration policy only.{{cite news |url=https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/26/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-win-678720 |title=Stephen Miller roiling nation with back-channel immigration meetings |last=Johnson |first=Eliana |date=June 26, 2018 |work=Politico |access-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-date=June 27, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180627045733/https://www.politico.com/story/2018/06/26/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-win-678720 |url-status=live }}{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/how-stephen-miller-manipulates-donald-trump-to-further-his-immigration-obsession|title=How Stephen Miller Manipulates Donald Trump to Further His Immigration Obsession|last=Blitzer|first=Jonathan|magazine=The New Yorker|date=February 20, 2020|language=en|access-date=March 15, 2020|archive-date=December 21, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201221172933/https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/03/02/how-stephen-miller-manipulates-donald-trump-to-further-his-immigration-obsession|url-status=live}} He became one of three senior advisors to the president and regarded as the adviser who shaped Trump administration immigration policies.{{cite news|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/stephen-millier-covid-19-positive-coronavirus-debate-prep-sessions.html|title=Stephen Miller Tests Positive for COVID-19|first=Matthew|last=Dessem|website=Slate|date=October 6, 2020|access-date=October 7, 2020|archive-date=October 7, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201007085319/https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2020/10/stephen-millier-covid-19-positive-coronavirus-debate-prep-sessions.html|url-status=live}} This recognition continued during the beginning of the second term and was widely acknowledged by supporters as well as critics,[https://counterpoint.substack.com/p/the-pale-prince-of-deportation-edition The Pale Prince of Deportation Edition], Counterpoint, Substack, June 20, 2025 and his significant influence noted.Josh Dawsey, Rebecca Ballhaus, [https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/stephen-miller-trump-immigration-c1e0e924 Stephen Miller’s Fingerprints Are on Everything in Trump’s Second Term], The Wall Street Journal, June 20, 2025

Miller is Jewish.{{Cite news|url=https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/demonizing-a-jewish-staffer-stephen-miller-responds-to-white-supremacist-claims-1.8314051|title='Demonizing a Jewish staffer': Stephen Miller responds to white supremacist accusations|newspaper=Haaretz|access-date=June 11, 2020|archive-date=June 11, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200611153513/https://www.haaretz.com/us-news/demonizing-a-jewish-staffer-stephen-miller-responds-to-white-supremacist-claims-1.8314051|url-status=live}} He married Katie Waldman, a fellow Trump administration official, on February 16, 2020.{{Cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/fashion/weddings/stephen-miller-wedding-katie-waldman.html |title=Katie Waldman and Stephen Miller Wed at Trump Hotel |date=February 16, 2020 |work=The New York Times |access-date=February 17, 2020 |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=February 17, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200217050140/https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/16/fashion/weddings/stephen-miller-wedding-katie-waldman.html |url-status=live }} They have a daughter, born shortly after the November 2020 election, and sons born in February 2022 and September 2023.{{cite web|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/stephen-katie-miller-baby-announcement-photos-2020-11|title=White House senior advisor Stephen Miller and his wife, Katie, who works as Pence's communications director, announce the birth of their first child with photos|last=Lahut|first=Jake|date=November 30, 2020|website=Business Insider|access-date=November 16, 2021}}{{cite web |last1=Bedard |first1=Paul |title=Baby No. 2 for Stephen and Katie Miller, son 'Jackson Grant' |date=March 1, 2022 |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/opinion/washington-secrets/baby-no-2-for-stephen-katie-miller-son-jackson-grant |newspaper=Washington Examiner |access-date=2 July 2022}}{{cite news |last1=Bedard |first1=Paul |title=Baby No. 3 for former Trump aides Stephen and Katie Miller |url=https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/news/washington-secrets/baby-3-for-stephen-and-katie-miller-former-trump-aides |access-date=8 November 2023 |publisher=Washington Examiner |date=September 11, 2023}} In June 2025, as Elon Musk prepared to depart the White House, Katie left her position on Musk's DOGE team in order to work for him personally.

On August 13, 2018, Politico published an essay by Miller's uncle, David S. Glosser, entitled "Stephen Miller Is an Immigration Hypocrite. I Know Because I'm His Uncle", in which he detailed the Glosser family's history of coming to the United States from the village of Antopal in present-day Belarus.{{cite news |last1=Shear |first1=Michael D. |date=August 13, 2018 |title=Stephen Miller's Uncle Calls Him a Hypocrite in an Online Essay |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-uncle.html |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180814022313/https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/13/us/politics/stephen-miller-immigration-uncle.html |archive-date=August 14, 2018 |access-date=August 13, 2018 |work=The New York Times |authorlink1=Michael D. Shear}}

Public disclosures showed Miller as the vice president until 2016 of California Villages, a brand owned by Cordary Inc, a real estate company his parents owned.{{Cite web| last = Levai| first = Eric| title = Stephen Miller's parents took up to $1 million in coronavirus relief| work = The Daily Dot| access-date = 2025-06-15| date = 2020-07-21| url = https://www.dailydot.com/debug/stephen-miller-paycheck-protection/}}

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