Last week, President Donald Trump named Stephen Miller, his longtime adviser and architect of the administration’s widely unpopular immigration agenda, his new chief of staff. With the midterm elections delivering a Democratic majority in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, Miller, whose titles until now were deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser, will likely play a critical role in shaping the White House’s agenda over the next two years.
There is probably no one who understands Miller better than journalist Jean Guerrero. During Trump’s first administration, Guerrero became fascinated by Miller, who, like her, had grown up in Southern California, surrounded by immigrants, in largely liberal (or at least not hard-line conservative) communities. How, she wondered, did this man, whose family came to the US fleeing antisemitic pogroms, who grew up in close proximity to immigrants, come to align himself with white supremacist and anti-immigrant views?
