Miller outlines how Trump administration would prioritize mass deportations
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Incoming deputy chief of staff for policy at the White House, Stephen Miller, in National Harbor, Maryland, earlier this year. Photo: Kent Nishimura/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Stephen Miller, the incoming White House deputy chief of staff for policy, on Sunday gave new details on the Trump administration's plan for what he called "the largest deportation operation in American history."
Why it matters: Miller made clear during his interview on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures" that deportations would be Trump's no.1 priority ahead of issues including making reforms to tax and trade and the debt ceiling.
- President-elect Trump has vowed to crack down on immigration and start mass deportations on Day 1 of his presidency, though the operation would be hard to achieve without major structural overhauls.
What they're saying: Miller said on Fox News that first, incoming Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-S.D.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) have "promised that they can get a full funding package for the border, the most significant board of security investment in American history ... to the president's desk in January or early February."
- That would mean a "massive increase" in Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers working on Trump's deportation operation and a "historic increase in border agents," with both getting a pay rise, Miller told Fox News' Maria Bartiromo.
- There would be "full funding for ICE beds, full funding for air and marine operations, full funding for all of the barriers and technology that you need to ensure there's never another got-away entering this country," Miller added.
Worth noting: Trump aides have previously said the president-elect would prioritize deporting dangerous criminals — something the federal government already does.
- An Axios review of the most recent immigration court records found that less than .5% of over 1 million cases last year resulted in deportation orders for alleged crimes other than illegal entry into the U.S.
Zoom in: After Trump has signed executive orders to "seal the border shut" and begin deportations, the senators would "move immediately" in the same timeframe "to the comprehensive tax reform package," Miller said.
- "What they're talking about doing is, before government funding expires in March, before the debt ceiling expires in June, just days after he puts his hand on that Bible ..." added Miller before Bartiromo asked if waiting until later in the year to extend tax cuts through a separate reconciliation process could risk it not happening.
- "There's zero chance of that because, as you know, the tax cuts expire this year," Miller replied.
- "And you're not just going to have tax cuts, but you're going to have other fiscal reforms ... going to have energy reforms, maybe additional border reforms. But the very important point in all of this is that, with the current [slim] size of the majority in the House, there isn't a proposal to pass taxes in February," he added. "That's going to take some period of time."
- Representatives for Thune and Graham did not immediately respond to Axios' requests for comment in the evening.
Go deeper: Trump suggests deporting families with mixed immigration status
Editor's note: This article has been updated with more context.
