Trump Puts Immigration Hard-Liner in Chief of Staff Role

President Donald Trump is replacing White House chief of staff Susie Wiles with Stephen Miller, an architect of the administration’s immigration agenda who has argued that the president can bypass Congress. The appointment takes effect Monday, putting a forceful advocate of executive power at the center of the White House as hopes for comprehensive immigration legislation recede.

“This is the clearest sign that (Trump’s) lame duck priority is to cause as much chaos as possible,” said Andrea Flores, founder of pro-immigration reform initiative Securing America’s Promise. “Calls to work with him on immigration reform are not realistic as long as Stephen Miller is in the White House.”

Who Holds the Levers

Trump announced the staffing change three days after Republicans suffered catastrophic midterm losses. He had initially suggested he might soften his approach and work with Democrats, then grew increasingly agitated over the results and changed course after allies urged him to ramp up the fight. The election brought no pause in the president’s control over his own administration.

Trump rejected the idea that the appointment responded to the election. “It’s just time. Sometimes you change,” he said. He praised Miller as “very good politically” and “a very good man,” and praised Wiles for having done a “great job.” Asked by CBS News whether he planned to fire people, Trump said, “I do,” adding, “I think they’re good, but I’ll be doing maybe a few changes. I don’t want to mention who.”

Miller, then a deputy chief of staff, has widened his role over the past year to cover broad areas of domestic policy. Allies and opponents have privately called him “the prime minister.” He has pushed to advance Trump’s priorities on immigration, crime and overhauling government institutions, arguing the president has broad unilateral power to bypass Congress. He has also challenged legal precedents and administrative norms and made incendiary accusations against critics.

The Cost of the Agenda

Miller served as an early aide on Trump’s 2016 campaign, working as a speechwriter and helping shape its anti-immigration platform. In the White House, he worked to further restrict immigration, including through a family separation policy that drew extended criticism from Democrats and many Republicans.

In Trump’s second term, Miller oversaw a mass deportation operation and pressed the Department of Homeland Security to meet arrest quotas of 3,000 people per day. He also advocated tighter restrictions on legal immigration and expanded his work into other controversial areas, including the administration’s targeting and killing of alleged narcotraffickers in the Caribbean.

Mark Krikorian, a Miller ally and director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates limited immigration, described the goal plainly: “His goal is to reduce immigration — I don’t think there’s any secret about that. Not just managing the border or reducing illegal immigration. He’s an actual immigration restrictionist.”

The deportation campaign produced widely shared scenes of violence in cities across the country as federal immigration agents pursued undocumented immigrants and clashed with protesters. In several cases, agents mistakenly arrested U.S. citizens. Federal agents’ successive killings of two Americans in Minnesota, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, sparked nationwide anger and led the administration to pull back on its efforts. Miller later took a lead role advocating the administration’s anti-fraud initiatives before the midterms.

A Narrow Road to Reform

Democratic lawmakers, congressional aides and immigrant advocates had privately expressed optimism that the parties might reach an agreement on comprehensive immigration legislation in the coming months. The appointment threatens those hopes. Georgia Governor-elect Keisha Lance Bottoms called it “deeply disappointing,” saying Miller “has been so divisive and has been behind so many of the policies that have impacted negatively Americans.”

Rep. Robert Garcia, the ranking member on the House Oversight Committee, said, “Stephen Miller should lawyer up,” and added that “Oversight Democrats will continue to investigate Miller for his misconduct, and we will fight against his hateful policies in Congress and the courts.” Democratic lawmakers have vowed investigations into the administration and its senior officials, including Miller, and have promised to try to halt Trump’s agenda.

Some Republicans also criticized the choice. Rep. Marlin Stutzman of Indiana said, “We lost Latinos because of the deportation look,” and criticized Miller for “constantly talking about deportation.” Sen. Thom Tillis called the appointment a “colossal mistake” and “the worst of all possible choices.” Yet Trump’s own adviser put the hierarchy bluntly: “But no matter if it’s John Kelly or Susie or Stephen, at the end of the day, Donald Trump is his own chief of staff.”