Stephen Miller “laid into” immigration officials for not arresting enough people during a fiery meeting about super-charging the Trump administration’s mass-deportation effort, Axios reports.
The White House deputy chief of staff is an immigration hard-liner, noted as the architect of several of Trump’s immigration policies, including the Muslim travel ban and the family separation policy, but sources have told Axios that he is unhappy with the rate at which criminals are being rounded up and shipped off.
He reportedly lost it during a May 21 meeting ordering Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers triple their arrests. Two sources told Axios that they believed their jobs were in “jeopardy” if they failed to comply.
Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem was also at the explosive meeting although she reportedly maintained her cool.
Deporting unauthorized immigrants was a key campaign promise of Donald Trump. However, Trump’s average daily rate of removals is around one percent below what his predecessor Joe Biden’s average daily rate of removals was, according to TRAC Immigration. Axios reports that the current administration’s deportation rate is “roughly the same” as it was in Biden’s last year in office.
Four people familiar with the meeting last week suggest that Miller is acutely aware of this, telling Axios anonymously that he openly blasted immigration bosses at ICE headquarters in Washington, D.C.
Miller reportedly demanded a rise in arrest and deportation figures, and told field office directors and special agents to make it happen.
While one source said Miller’s stark tone was intended as a rousing speech, two other insiders told Axios that officials fear that if they don’t deliver on his demands, they’re out.
The sources added that this is not the first time that Miller has laid into senior DHS officials. Noem, meanwhile, was calmer in the meeting and sought opinions from officials.
“Keeping President Trump’s promise to deport illegal aliens is something the administration takes seriously,” a White House spokesperson told Axios.
“We are committed to aggressively and efficiently removing illegal aliens from the United States, and ensuring our law enforcement officers have the resources necessary to do so. The safety of the American people depends upon it.”
The Daily Beast has approached the White House and the Department of Homeland Security for further comment.
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