As Stephen Miller rises, California hopes it can blunt his force with Democratic gains
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President Trump’s appointment of Stephen Miller — the architect of the administration’s extreme crackdown on immigration — to White House chief of staff is sparking alarm among immigrant advocates and politicians across California.
But this week’s sweeping Democratic victories are giving immigrant communities hope that control of Congress will give them more tools to fight Miller’s policies.
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control → rise → policies
Miller grew up in Santa Monica but has become a relentless critic of California, specifically its immigration policies, protections and, in many ways, identity.
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Miller → grow → ways
Southern California was the first city targeted by widespread immigration raids last year, upending the region in ways that continue to reverberate, particularly for immigrant communities.
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that → target → communities
Miller’s promotion, announced Friday, is seen by many as an indication that the president has no intention of backing away from some of his most polarizing policies during his last two years in office, despite devastating midterm losses for Republicans across the country.
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president → announce → country
The nationwide Democratic swing — in South Carolina, Texas, California’s Central Valley and across the Midwest — was widely viewed as a rebuke of the administration’s first two years, particularly the major immigration crackdown that went far beyond Trump’s promise to focus on the “worst of the worst,” instead arresting thousands without criminal convictions, many of whom had lived in the country for decades.
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many → view → decades
“We’re concerned that this means the president may be doubling down on his domestic agenda of ICE crackdowns and on deportations if Stephen Miller is at the helm,” said Jamal Abdi, the president of the National Iranian American Council.
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Abdi → ’re → Council
“He thinks that every problem starts with the immigrant community — and that getting rid of them is the solution.”
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rid → think → them
Abdi worries that Miller’s latest promotion will further anti-immigrant policies, which have long painted Iranians and other immigrant communities as threats.
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which → worry → threats
He is hopeful Miller will help end the military’s war in Iran but fears that may mean more focus domestically on immigrants, especially Iranians, who have been demonized amid the war.
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who → help → war
President Trump on Friday announced his appointment of Stephen Miller as his chief of staff to replace Susie Wiles.
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Trump → announce → Wiles
“We are definitely not out of the woods, and it seems like maybe the president might do less damage abroad but will really focus energy domestically,” Abdi said.
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Abdi → seem → energy
Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights in Los Angeles, said seeing more power in the hands of Miller — who she said was behind the Trump administration’s strategies that included “warrantless arrest, racial profiling, excessive use of force, medical neglect in detention centers, people deported illegally” — is threatening.
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that → say → centers
“Now he’s the chief of staff, and so that means that he has access to every single Cabinet secretary to unleash his reign of terror on our people,” Salas said.
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Salas → ’ → people
During the midterm elections, she said her team was aware of an influx of Department of Homeland Security sightings and activity in the Southland.
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team → say → Southland
“We saw people arrested the day after the election in a massive way, and it almost feels very vengeful,” she said.
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she → see → way
“Almost [like saying], ‘You know you can’t stop us.’
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you → say → us
Now, she and other immigration advocates are preparing for “even more abuse from this administration,” Salas said.
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Salas → prepare → administration
But Ahilan Arulanantham, faculty co-director of UCLA’s Miñana Family Center for Immigration Law and Policy, said Miller’s promotion doesn’t change anything for him.
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promotion → say → him
“He’s been adopting the most extreme authoritarian and racist views and espousing it publicly … for the entire two years of this administration,” Arulanantham said.
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Arulanantham → adopt → administration
“Whether he does it as the deputy chief of staff or chief of staff ... I don’t have a view of the difference.”
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I → do → difference
Democratic upsets in this year’s midterms could reshape the electoral map, and the fight for the White House in 2028.
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upsets → reshape → 2028
Despite widespread backlash to the immigration raids last year, particularly after federal agents killed two civilians in Minnesota, the administration did pull back some of its most aggressive tactics.
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administration → kill → tactics
But Miller has remained intensely focused on his goal to limit immigration dramatically and deport undocumented migrants.
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Miller → remain → migrants
Miller’s new role will come as the administration prepares to face a Democratic-led House of Representatives and Senate, which is expected to provide a check on an executive branch that has been largely untethered in Trump’s second term.
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that → come → term
“Congress has tremendous opportunity to constrain what the federal government can do in the form of abusive immigration practices,” Arulanantham said.
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Arulanantham → have → practices
“Congress has a huge amount of leverage that it could choose to use to force the administration to change its conduct — in the way that voters have clearly demanded.”
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voters → have → that
He hopes Congress will pass laws that limit how the Department of Homeland Security enforces immigration laws, including how agents use warrants — or don’t — what they wear while on duty and what factors they can consider when stopping someone.
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they → hop → someone
Members of Congress appeared to agree with that approach.
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Members → appear → approach
“Stephen Miller should lawyer up,” U.S. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Long Beach), who is set to lead the House Oversight Committee once the next Congress is sworn in, wrote in a statement Friday.
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Congress → lawyer → statement
He and his colleagues are committed to fighting “against his hateful policies in Congress and the courts.”
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He → commit → Congress
“Just days after the American people rejected his corrupt and lawless presidency, Donald Trump is doubling down,” Garcia said.
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Garcia → reject → presidency
“Stephen Miller is the architect of the unconstitutional ICE raids that have terrorized our communities and kidnapped and killed American citizens and immigrant families.”
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that → terrorize → citizens
Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.) characterized Miller as the man most responsible for “the cruelest immigration policies this country has seen in modern times: family separations, detainment of babies and children, militarized raids, arbitrary arrest quotas, and the horror unleashed in communities across the country,” Padilla said.
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Padilla → characterize → country
“We will use every tool at our disposal — oversight, investigations, subpoenas, and our leverage over federal funding — to expose this Administration’s abuse of power and hold those responsible accountable.”
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those → use → power
Hundreds of people gathered Saturday morning in downtown Los Angeles to protest against the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
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Hundreds → gather → policies
Standing up to the administration was a similar response for lawmakers in Los Angeles.
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Standing → stand → Angeles
City Councilmember Eunisses Hernandez, whose district was targeted by some of the most extreme immigration sweeps last year, called Miller’s appointment an act of desperation by Trump.
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district → target → Trump
The councilmember said it won’t deter her office or the community from resisting harsh immigration policies and continued activity in L.A.
“We’re going to fight back,” Hernandez said.
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Hernandez → say → L.A.
“Even when we were on the losing side, when we didn’t have the majority in the Senate or the House, many of us were still fighting against those raids, fighting for our communities, fighting to make sure people are fed and housed.”
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fed → have → communities
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