Stephen Miller has a powerful new tool to help fulfill his goal of carrying out the largest mass deportation in U.S. history: his very own police force.
Miller, senior adviser to Donald Trump and the architect of many of the president’s most hardline immigration proposals, has been handed his very own law enforcement team with the establishment of a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) police force.
The Wall Street Journal reported that USCIS, which processes applications for citizenship, visas, and green cards, will train hundreds of armed federal agents to spot fraud in immigration applications and arrest both the applicants and the lawyers who helped them prepare their petitions.
“USCIS law enforcement authorities and newly minted USCIS 1811 classified officers (commonly known as special agents) are now empowered to investigate, arrest, and present for prosecution those who violate America’s immigration laws,” said the DHS in a statement on Thursday.
Until now, USCIS operated separately from law enforcement so that immigrants would feel safe submitting to the application process. If there was a suspected case of fraud, USCIS would flag it and pass it on to ICE.
In July, Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” granted ICE a budget of $30 billion as part of Trump and Miller’s plan to deport 1 million undocumented immigrants each year.
Joseph Edlow, a lawyer and USCIS’ newly appointed director, told the Journal that the move to create a police force is necessary because, historically, ICE has been unable to track down every lead given to them by USCIS.
Edlow also downplayed concerns that arming USCIS would “chill” immigration to the United States in an interview with the Journal.
“I’m not expecting this to have a chilling effect on applications,” Edlow said. “I’m expecting this to have a chilling effect on fraudulent applications, and that’s what I want.”
Immigrant advocates disagree. Doug Rand, a USCIS senior advisor during the Biden administration, described the police force as “totally unnecessary,” telling the Journal, “It’s a solution in search of a problem.”
Nicole Melaku, executive director of the National Partnership for New Americans, told NBC News, “This shift in allowing armed agents and having a whole new enforcement apparatus connected to USCIS is deeply alarming.”
“The desire here is to intimidate people away from accessing the process and instilling fear and mistrust in an agency that has been traditionally tasked with being seen as a public good,” she added.
Under the Trump administration, USCIS has grown increasingly hostile toward immigration applicants.
In August, the State Department announced that it would be reviewing the records of all 55 million U.S. visa holders in search of deportable offenses.
“America’s benefits should not be given to those who despise the country and promote anti-American ideologies,” USCIS spokesperson Matthew Tragesser said of the administration’s plan.
The administration has never outlined what it classifies as “anti-American ideologies.”
In addition to getting a police force for his department, Edlow generated headlines at a Thursday morning press conference for saying he wants to make the U.S. Citizenship Test harder.
“Frankly, this test is just too easy. Six out of 10 questions right now is what people have to get right,” he said.
“We’re looking for attachment to the Constitution. We’re looking for an understanding of the civic responsibility of being a U.S. citizen. We’re looking for actual understanding and ability to read and speak and write the English language.”
The post Stephen Miller Gets His Own Private Police Force appeared first on The Daily Beast.
