Official portrait of Stephen Miller

Stephen Miller

Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy

Appointed as assistant to the president, deputy chief of staff for policy, and homeland security advisor on January 20, 2025. Previously served as senior advisor during the first Trump administration (2017-2021) where he architected the family separation policy and Muslim travel ban. Widely described as the lead architect of the second-term immigration agenda, Miller directed the invocation of the Alien Enemies Act for mass deportations, the rescission of sensitive locations protections allowing ICE raids on churches, schools, and hospitals, the shutdown of the CBP One asylum app, the reimposition of Remain in Mexico, and the termination of TPS for hundreds of thousands of residents. Oversaw the CECOT deportation pipeline to El Salvador and expansion of the expanded travel ban.

Linked Incidents

9 Total incidents
1 War Crime / Crime Against Humanity
1 Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern
7 Serious Rights Violation
1 probable 8 potential
Updated September 3, 2025 Deportation & Immigration
Critical Rights and Rule-of-Law Concern Ongoing Active litigation

Invocation of the Alien Enemies Act to Accelerate Venezuelan Deportations

The administration invoked a rarely used 1798 wartime statute to justify accelerated removals of Venezuelan nationals, including transfers into El Salvador's detention system, prompting immediate …

  • The proclamation treated Tren de Aragua activity as an 'invasion' or 'predatory incursion' under the Alien Enemies Act.
  • The government used the proclamation to argue for removals with sharply reduced individualized process.
Sources
9
Documents
1
Updates
0
Updated March 26, 2026 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Reported record

CBP One App Shutdown: 30,000 Asylum Appointments Cancelled, 270,000 Stranded

The immediate shutdown of the CBP One asylum scheduling app on Inauguration Day cancelled 30,000 appointments and stranded 270,000 asylum seekers, eliminating the primary legal pathway to request …

  • On January 20, 2025, at noon EST, CBP removed the scheduling functionality from the CBP One app, instantly cancelling approximately 30,000 …
  • An estimated 270,000 migrants continued logging into the app seeking appointments after the shutdown, indicating the scale of people relying …
Sources
7
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 24, 2026 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Reported record

Family Separations and Prolonged Child Detention Under Immigration Enforcement

Immigration enforcement separated at least 11,000 US citizen children from their parents, with children held in government custody for an average of six months while officials used reunification …

  • At least 11,000 US citizen children had a parent detained by ICE in the first seven months of Trump's second term -- an average of more than …
  • Children in ICE detention jumped more than sixfold compared to the Biden administration, from ~25 per day to ~170 per day.
Sources
7
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Civil Rights
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Official executive action

Expanded Travel Ban Targeting Up to 39 Countries, Predominantly Muslim and African Nations

A sweeping expansion of travel restrictions targeting predominantly Muslim-majority and African nations, growing from the original first-term ban to cover 39 countries. The bans affect millions of …

  • On June 4, 2025, Trump issued a proclamation restricting entry from 12 countries (Afghanistan, Chad, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, …
  • In December 2025, the ban was expanded to fully restrict entry from 7 additional countries: Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Sierra Leone, …
Sources
7
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated July 15, 2025 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Official executive action

Reimposition of 'Remain in Mexico' Migrant Protection Protocols

The administration reinstated 'Remain in Mexico,' forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexican cities that the US State Department itself rates as 'Level 4: Do Not Travel' due to kidnapping and violence. …

  • DHS reinstated MPP on January 21, 2025, forcing asylum seekers to wait in Mexican border cities while their cases are processed in US …
  • MSF documented that in one border city, 75% of MPP patients had been kidnapped while waiting in Mexico under the policy.
Sources
6
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Official executive action

Rescission of ICE Sensitive Locations Policy — Churches, Schools, and Hospitals Open to Raids

The rescission of the sensitive locations policy removed decades-old protections for churches, schools, hospitals, courthouses, and shelters from immigration enforcement. The change unleashed a …

  • On January 20, 2025, the Trump administration rescinded the DHS Protected Areas policy via executive order 'Protecting the American People …
  • Arrests of people with no criminal record surged 2,450% in Trump's first year — from 6% of ICE detainees in January 2025 to 41% by December …
Sources
7
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 13, 2026 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Active litigation

Mass Termination of Temporary Protected Status Across 11 Countries

TPS was terminated or targeted for termination across 11 countries, de-documenting over 1 million people. Federal courts have blocked or paused several terminations. The State Department maintains 'Do …

  • 1.6 million people lost their legal right to stay in the United States in 2025 across all TPS and parole terminations -- the largest mass …
  • TPS was terminated or targeted for 11 countries: Venezuela, Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua, Nepal, Afghanistan, Cameroon, Syria, Somalia, …
Sources
7
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated July 2, 2025 Deportation & Immigration
Serious Rights Violation Ongoing Judicial finding

Suspension of Asylum at the Southern Border

The administration imposed an unprecedented total ban on asylum claims at the southern border, shutting down the CBP One app and eliminating all avenues for protection. A federal judge ruled the …

  • Executive order signed January 20, 2025 suspended all asylum processing at the southern border and shut down the CBP One scheduling app.
  • The order declared an 'invasion' at the southern border and invoked emergency powers to bypass statutory asylum protections.
Sources
6
Documents
0
Updates
0
Updated March 25, 2026 Deportation to Torture
War Crime / Crime Against Humanity Ongoing Reported record

Secret Deportation of 260+ Venezuelans to CECOT Mega-Prison

Over 260 Venezuelans were secretly deported to CECOT, where HRW documented torture, sexual violence, prolonged incommunicado detention, and denial of basic necessities. Many deportees had no criminal …

  • 260+ Venezuelan nationals were secretly deported to CECOT between March and April 2025, without notice to families or attorneys, …
  • HRW's 'You Have Arrived in Hell' report documented regular and severe physical abuse, sexual violence (at least 3 cases including forced …
Sources
6
Documents
2
Updates
0