White nationalist Trump adviser now working with GOP to sue Biden over immigration

Stephen Miller, a white nationalist and senior aide in the Trump White House, is working behind the scenes through his organization America First Legal to assist Republican attorneys general who are suing the Biden administration over immigration issues.

Miller was responsible for designing some of the Trump administration’s key policies targeting immigrants, including the separation of immigrant children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border and the ban on travelers from Muslim-majority countries entering the United States.

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Wednesday, Miller disclosed his group’s work behind the scenes.

“My organization has been working with several of the states that are now suing the Biden administration over their lawless and reckless policies, including, for example, the states of Texas and Arizona,” said Miller.

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing the Biden administration over what he and Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt call President Joe Biden’s “arbitrary and capricious decision” to rescind Donald Trump’s “remain in Mexico” policy of forcing immigrants seeking asylum to stay in the country in possibly dangerous conditions until their claims were processed.

Mark Brnovich, Arizona’s attorney general, is suing the Biden administration for halting construction of Trump’s wall on the U.S. southern border and having “embarked on multiple environmentally disruptive policies without performing even cursory environmental analysis.”

Miller announced the launch of America First Legal on April 7, telling the Wall Street Journal that in addition to fighting the policies of the Biden administration, the group plans to oppose police reform and challenge tech companies and other businesses whose positions run counter to those held by conservatives.

In addition to the child separation policy and the ban on Muslims coming into the country, while in the White House Miller also zealously pursued policies to severely limit the number of refugees who could enter the United States.

Asked by reporter Jim Acosta in 2017 whether his anti-immigrant policies violated the spirit of Emma Lazarus’ poem “The New Colossus,” with its exhortation, “Give me your tired, your poor/Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,” attached to the base of the Statue of Liberty, Miller argued against the statue as a symbol of welcome, saying, “The Statue of Liberty is a symbol of liberty and light in the world. It’s a symbol of American liberty lighting the world. The poem that you’re referring to that was added later is not actually part of the original Statue of Liberty.”

Miller’s white nationalist views were evident before he worked for Donald Trump.

In emails he sent to the right-wing Breitbart News between March 2015 and June 2016, Miller advanced racist immigration stories and white supremacist literature and complained that pro-slavery Confederate symbols were being removed from the public square.

Once he was on the Trump team, Miller was involved in its disinformation operations, ramping up as it became clear Trump was going to lose the 2020 election to Joe Biden.

Appearing on “Fox & Friends” on Dec. 14, when it was abundantly clear that Biden had won and states had already certified their results, Miller claimed that “an alternate slate of electors in the contested states is going to vote and we are going to send those results up to Congress.”

Miller, echoing Trump, also falsely claimed that “massive fraud” had tainted the election results.

Joining Miller at America First Legal on its board of directors is former Republican Rep. Mark Meadows of North Carolina, who served as Trump’s fourth and final White House chief of staff.

Meadows frequently appeared on cable news to defend Trump’s record, often with false claims.

In an August 2020 appearance, Meadows said Trump was the “only president who actually went after a terrorist and took him out.” He made the statement nine years after President Barack Obama authorized the operation that killed Osama bin Laden.

Like Miller, Meadows has a history of racist comments and actions him, including his embrace of the conspiracy theory that posited that President Obama was not born in the United States. In 2012, Meadows told attendees at a rally, “We are going to send Mr. Obama home to Kenya or wherever it is.”

Matthew Whitaker, who served as acting attorney general after Trump forced out Jeff Sessions also sits on America First Legal’s board of directors.

Whitaker served on the board of directors of a company called World Patent Marketing beginning in 2014. The company was forced to close and pay the Federal Trade Commission a $25 million settlement for defrauding its customers.

Documents released by the commission showed that Whitaker knew of complaints made by customers of the firm but took no action, allegedly invoking his past position as a U.S. attorney to promote the company and intimidate its critics.

This background did not prevent Trump from elevating Whitaker to serve as the country’s senior law enforcement official.

Published with permission of The American Independent Foundation.