Donald Trump’s Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller has been running daily clandestine meetings with politically friendly diplomats to enact the administration’s agenda, a new report claims.
The adviser pulls loyal conservative officials from across multiple agencies into a meeting at 10 a.m. most mornings, The Guardian reports, citing sources. The conferences have come to be known by some as the “Stephen Miller call” and are not accompanied by public briefings, one source claimed.
Miller, 40, is considered the architect of many of Trump’s most hardline immigration proposals and has been pushing ICE leaders to ramp up arrests,
In the so-called “Miller call,” diplomats are reportedly quizzed for status updates on refugee and consular matters. It also reportedly involves instructing them to secure agreements where nations accept immigrants who cannot be deported to their country of origin.
The newspaper cites a current State Department source who it says has been briefed on the calls. “This is basically happening every single day, but without those safeguards to understand what’s actually happening,” the source said.
“As questions are asked by the White House, or proclamations are made… that gets distilled down into a policy guidance or direction to do it now, do it hard… There’s no room for discussion.”
They also said the calls focus on the fine details. “They’re asking about not just specific policies or visa categories or removal efforts or things like that, but country-by-country specifics,” they said.
A BBC report in August claimed that 6,000 student visas had been revoked. The State Department told the U.K. national broadcaster that they had been taken away due to either overstaying or breaching U.S. law.
The Guardian’s report now claims revocations have also been discussed in the morning meeting for people who have criticized Charlie Kirk, the conservative activist who was assassinated in September. So too have those of vocal critics of Israel over its war in Gaza.
Miller serves as both the White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy and the United States Homeland Security Adviser. The Atlantic reported on Oct. 30 that he and other Trump officials are living in taxpayer-subsidized military housing where they are shielded from any protests.
The Guardian reports a former senior official briefed on the calls said Miller’s influence is part of a wider administration policy. It involves “installing trusted people in the key positions, and turning [the State Department] into an anti-immigration machine.”
An unnamed White House official said claims Miller treats U.S. immigration policy as his “personal fiefdom” were “just inaccurate,” The Guardian reports.
“Stephen Miller is a staffer in the Trump administration who is just like any other staffer working to implement the president’s agenda, and any claims that this is Stephen’s policy are inaccurate and demonstrate a lack of understanding about the role of the homeland security adviser,” they said.
State Department spokesperson Tommy Pigott said in a statement to the Daily Beast, “President Trump promised to combat the failed open border policies of the previous administration.
“The entire administration is working seamlessly together to implement the president’s agenda that he was elected to enact. Thanks to the president’s leadership, we now have the most secure border in history, and the administration will continue closely coordinating on key administration priorities.
“Individuals complaining about White House-agency coordination fundamentally misunderstand our system of government.”
The Daily Beast has contacted the Department of Homeland Security for comment.
