White House adviser Stephen Miller. Photo: BRENDAN SMIALOWSKI/AFP via Getty Images
Senior White House adviser Stephen Miller on Thursday told surrogates in a private call that President Trump's 60-day order banning some legal immigration will shepherd more long-term changes to U.S. immigration policy, the Washington Post reports.
Why it matters: Trump's new executive order was publicly described as a “pause” amid the coronavirus outbreak. Miller, a known advocate for more restrictive immigration policy during Trump's tenure, told surrogates the White House is considering tightening guest worker programs, but said "the most important thing is to turn off the faucet of new immigrant labor.”
Between the lines, via Axios' Stef Kight: Some immigration hawks were disappointed, hoping Trump's order would have a broader impact, given his tweet Monday night.
What Miller's saying: “As a numerical proposition, when you suspend the entry of a new immigrant from abroad, you’re also reducing immigration further because the chains of follow-on migration that are disrupted."
- “So the benefit to American workers compounds with time.”
- Miller declined to comment to the Post, and a White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.