What Stephen Miller has pushed for while in Trump administration

Stephen Miller, the top White House adviser poised to assume the chief of staff position, has been instrumental in shaping President Trump's most contentious immigration policies throughout both of his administrations. Elected by President Trump as one of his most trusted advisers, Miller assumes the role from Susie Wiles, who has held the position since the beginning of his second term.

This move follows the Republican party's significant midterm election losses and comes as Democrats prepare to investigate the administration's actions, including its immigration enforcement practices.

Miller is credited with driving many of the controversial immigration policies, having advocated for the expansion of enforcement measures that have received approximately $170 billion in funding from the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law in July 2025. During the first term of the Trump presidency, Miller played a key role in developing and defending the administration's executive order that imposed a travel ban on nationals of several Muslim-majority countries, leading to nationwide protests and legal challenges.

Subsequently, he strongly backed the administration's zero-tolerance immigration policy, which resulted in the separation of thousands of families and pushed for a significantly reduced refugee admissions ceiling of 15,000 for fiscal year 2021, the lowest number ever set.

During the latter part of the Trump administration, Miller pushed for at least 3,000 immigration arrests per day and proposed deploying the National Guard to aid mass deportations. He also championed the use of the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 to expedite the deportation of Venezuelan gang members to El Salvador, sparking a legal battle that ultimately resulted in the Supreme Court blocking the immediate deportations.

Miller has also supported aggressive third-country deportations, including cases where immigrants are sent to countries where they have no citizenship or family ties, such as various African nations.

In May 2025, Miller expressed the administration's consideration of suspending the constitutional mechanism that allows detainees to challenge their confinement in court. At a recent Miami conference, he argued for the use of military force to combat cartels, suggesting that traditional criminal law enforcement alone may not be sufficient.

Miller appeared alongside President Trump in the Oval Office earlier this summer as he signed executive orders aimed at limiting citizenship for some children born in the United States, following the Supreme Court's ruling that invalidated his previous executive order aimed at ending birthright citizenship.