Isn't his only 'trick': Top Trump advisor adopts 'dangerous approach' to 'fight a long war'
12 May
Donald Trump gestures at Turning Point USA's AmericaFest in Phoenix, Arizona, U.S., December 22, 2024. REUTERS/Cheney Orr/File Photo
President Donald Trump’s mass deportation drive has faced backlash as it encounters legal challenges and accusations of violating due process. Despite this, the administration has continued to pursue its immigration policies.
In an article published in Salon on Monday, writer Heather Digby Parton stated that Homeland Security advisor and White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy Stephen Miller is the driving force behind many of these policies — and that he has been misrepresenting court rulings issued against the administration.
In April, the Supreme Court issued a temporary halt on the Trump administration’s application of the Alien Enemies Act in certain instances, such as cases involving Venezuelan migrants.
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In the Salon article, Parton argued: "Miller was well aware that the courts were a significant barrier [to the deportations]. He was the architect of the ill-fated travel ban early in the first Trump administration, which was first struck down (and later watered down) by the courts."
"He understood that the president was going to have to be both aggressive and provocative. Trump's team needed to assert presidential authority with total confidence, and ensure that the Supreme Court understood they would have to issue the final word on what the law says and how it will be enforced," the article added.
The author noted that while Trump’s inner circle hasn’t directly defied the courts, they’ve been pushing boundaries in more subtle ways. Among them, Miller stands out for aggressively twisting the meaning of Supreme Court rulings — asserting interpretations that contradict the actual language.
During an Oval Office meeting where Trump and El Salvador President Nayib Bukele spoke to the press, Miller inaccurately declared that the Court had unanimously backed the administration’s effort to deport Kilmar Ábrego García, a Maryland man wrongly deported to El Salvador.
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"The Alien Enemies Act isn't the only trick Miller has up his sleeve, however. Last Friday he signaled that another, even more dangerous approach is coming," Parton said, referring to Miller's statement that the administration is “actively looking at” whether to attempt to “suspend” the right to habeas corpus.
The author said "it is entirely possible that Miller won't have to go nuclear and compel Trump to suspend habeas corpus after all."
"The Roberts court could simply decide that right is optional, despite the plain language of the Constitution. But it's clear enough that Miller is prepared to keep raising the stakes, no matter what the courts do to stop him. Who knows what other cards he has left to play? He's ready to fight a long war," the author added.