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Stephen Miller told the crowd at Donald Trump’s rally in Madison Square Garden that “America is for Americans and Americans only” and that he would “restore America to the true Americans.”
Stephen Miller, a close adviser and immigration hardliner, has been named US President-elect Donald Trump’s deputy chief of staff for policy in the White House. Miller was confirmed as the new Deputy Chief of Staff for policy on X by Vice President-elect JD Vance on Monday, who praised him as “another fantastic pick by the president.”
Mr. Miller was the president-elect’s senior adviser and director of speechwriting at the White House during his first term in office. He also played a key role in the implementation of several of Mr. Trump’s immigration policies, such as the 2018 family separation policy and the travel ban for Muslims.
Miller’s Position Regarding H-1B Permits
During the president-elect’s 2024 campaign, Mr. Miller, who is well-known for his extreme rhetoric, was frequently seen speaking at Mr. Trump rallies. Speaking to nearly 19,500 Americans at Mr. Trump’s infamous rally in New York’s Madison Square Garden, Mr. Miller declared that “America is for Americans and Americans only” and pledged to “restore America to the true Americans.”
Last year, during an interview with the New York Times, Mr. Miller asserted that if Mr. Trump was re-elected, his administration would bring policies to restrict legal and illegal immigration. Additionally, he discussed plans to house undocumented immigrants in camps until they are expelled.
Miller assisted in the draughting of the Cruz-Sessions bill during Trump’s first administration, which forbade foreign students with a bachelor’s or master’s degree from working in the US on an H-1B visa for a minimum of ten years.
Mr. Miller is anticipated to carry on advocating for restrictive immigration laws, such as restrictions on H-1B visas, in his new position within Trump 2.0. He argues that the H-1B program can lead to American worker displacement and wage suppression.
Trump Administration And Immigration
The Trump administration’s stance on immigration has often been at odds with economic consensus, which shows that skilled immigrants and international students benefit the US economy. As president, Trump did not enact any measures to increase access to H-1B visas, and his second term will likely be similar. Policies introduced during his presidency also saw a rise in visa denial rates and a narrowing of the definition of “speciality occupation,” reducing the positions eligible for H-1B workers.
A court blocked a restrictive H-1B rule that Mr. Trump’s administration had published in 2020, just before he left office, for violating the Administrative Procedure Act. According to a Forbes report, the rule changed who and what jobs could be considered an H-1B speciality occupation, among other measures, to stop businesses from hiring foreign-born scientists and engineers.
Mr. Trump has also named former acting director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), Tom Homan, as his administration’s “Border Czar,” carrying on the goals of his previous administration. The president-elect stated in a post on his Truth Social platform that Homan would be in charge of US border security in addition to aviation and maritime security. He added that Mr. Homan would be in charge of deportation regulations.
It is expected that Miller and Homan will collaborate closely to carry out the restrictive immigration policies of the Trump administration.
The Forbes report said that if President Joe Biden’s administration does not finalise the H-1B “modernising” rule before he leaves the Oval Office, a new Trump administration could issue the H-1B rule with its priorities rather than those of the Biden team.
The new rule would probably be much more restrictive than the existing H-1B regulation or the proposal made by US Citizenship and Immigration Services in October 2023, according to the report.
Refusal of H-1B Requests Under Trump Administration
A highly skilled foreign national’s only option for long-term employment in the United States is frequently an H-1B visa.
Memoranda and policy guidance issued by officials during Mr. Trump’s first term increased the denial rate of H-1B petitions from 6% in FY 2015 to 24% in FY 2018 and 21% in FY 2019.
According to the Forbes report, denial rates dropped to pre-Trump levels to 2.2 percent in FY 2022 and 4 percent in FY 2021 following a court settlement in June 2020.