Stephen Miller: Vampire of the West Wing

[GreyhoundFan]

"‘We don’t have to yell’: Wolf Blitzer tells Stephen Miller to ‘calm down’ during border wall interview"

Spoiler

When White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller went on CNN for a live interview Thursday night, Wolf Blitzer instantly took notice of his guest’s appearance.

But it wasn’t Miller’s widely-discussed hairline that caught the anchor’s attention. Filling the screen above a news chyron that read in all capital letters, “DEFENSE SECRETARY QUITS IN PROTEST OVER TRUMP MIDDLE EAST POLICY AS GOVERNMENT SHUTDOWN LOOMS AND FINANCIAL MARKETS TANK,” Miller had a broad smile across his face.

“I see you smiling, but right now it doesn’t look like there’s a lot to smile about," Blitzer said. "Very serious issues.”

Miller, one of President Trump’s most ardent supporters, was invited on “The Situation Room” to discuss the whirlwind of events that have left the country in what has been described as “a state of chaos” just days before Christmas. What began as a civil exchange rapidly turned into more than 20 minutes of a heated back-and-forth.

Miller appeared to repeatedly dodge Blitzer’s pointed questions, choosing instead to shower Trump with praise and spout lengthy impassioned defenses of the president’s recent controversial decisions. At one point, Miller became so animated while arguing for the president’s proposed border wall that Blitzer, who remained composed, cut him off, saying, “Calm down a minute, we don’t have to yell.”

The interview soon went viral, encapsulating for many a hectic day of turmoil in the nation’s capitol.

Blitzer kicked off Thursday’s interview asking Miller for his reaction to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis’s abrupt resignation just hours earlier. In a letter, Mattis wrote that Trump has the right to have someone in the position who is “better aligned” with his views, The Washington Post reported. The pair recently clashed over Trump’s surprise announcement that he plans to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, a decision Mattis and other top advisers warned the president against.

On Twitter, Trump announced Mattis was retiring, which Blitzer pointed out was not the reason cited in the lengthy resignation letter. “Tell us what you know about this,” Blitzer asked Miller.

“Well, first of all, there is a lot to be happy about right now,” Miller responded, referencing Blitzer’s initial comment about his seemingly out-of-place smile. Miller quickly rattled off the day’s achievements, which included the House passing a sweeping criminal justice reform bill and Trump signing an $867 billion farm bill into law. He also touted a low unemployment rate.

“As to your question about Secretary Mattis, he and the president had a great relationship,” Miller said. “Secretary Mattis served our country with honor and distinction."

Then, Miller shifted gears to defend the president’s “America First” approach to foreign policy. Seeming unsatisfied with Miller’s answer, Blitzer reiterated his original question about Mattis.

“The president said that Mattis is retiring," the anchor said. “Mattis is quitting, he’s not retiring. He’s quitting in protest over the president’s policies, so why is the president saying in that statement he made on Twitter that Mattis is retiring?”

“James Mattis is retiring,” Miller said, before parroting the explanation the defense secretary gave in his resignation letter for why he’s decided to step down. Talking over Blitzer who tried to ask a follow-up question, Miller added that it is “very normal at this point in the administration to have turnover.”

Throughout the interview, Miller defended Trump’s decision to withdraw U.S. troops from Syria and Afghanistan, and asserted that the media was responsible for encouraging U.S. involvement in the affairs of other countries.

Blitzer responded that the current situation has “nothing to do with the media,” pointing out that opposition is coming from top government officials.

Miller, who told Blitzer he didn’t mean “any disrespect,” argued that he’s seen “hour and hour of coverage, breathlessly trying to drag America deeper into a Syrian conflict, breathlessly engaging in propping up quotes from people who have dragged us into conflicts like Iraq.”

“This president’s been very clear about the fact he will defend America like no one else,” Miller said, talking faster and louder as he went on. "He will have a military power second to none. He will kill terrorists wherever and whenever he has to. But he’s also going to be sophisticated and intelligent and smart about it. And he’s not going to have us in foreign conflicts, like Syria, generation after generation after generation instead of protecting this country.”

He continued, ignoring Blitzer’s attempts to interject: “And you want to talk about protecting this country, you want to talk about defending America? Border security.”

Trump, Blitzer said, had two years to complete the wall when both the House and the Senate were under Republican control. “Why did he fail?” Blitzer asked.

Laughing, Miller said the House was currently voting to pass a funding bill that allocated $5.7 billion for the wall. The bill passed Thursday night and is headed to the Senate where Democrats have the votes to block any legislation that contains funding for the wall, The Post reported.

“The fight’s only just beginning,” Miller told Blitzer. “We’re talking about success at border security, this president has made unprecedented achievements in that area.”

When Blitzer asked again why the wall wasn’t finished, Miller started to shout.

“He wants to build the wall by getting the money now, just like the president was very clear about for the last year leading up to this funding fight,” Miller said, raising his voice.

Cutting off Blitzer, who tried to ask about securing the funding, Miller said emphatically, “Right now as we speak there is a surge of illegal immigration heading toward our country that presents a national crisis now.”

He continued, appearing to become more irate: “Not a month from now, not a year from now, right now. And this president took an oath, like every lawmaker in Congress to defend the citizens of this country. How many more innocent people have to die in pursuit of an open borders agenda?”

“Alright, Stephen, hold on a minute,” Blitzer said, trying to curtail Miller’s outburst. “Calm down a minute, we don’t have to yell.”

As Miller chuckled, Blitzer said, “These are important policy issues that we’re discussing. The American people have a right to know where you and the president, the White House, stands.”

Social media was immediately alight with reactions to the fiery interview, or what one Twitter user described as “Stephen Miller’s crazy, alarmist ranting.” Blitzer and Miller were both trending on Twitter as of Thursday night.

Many were quick to praise Blitzer for maintaining his composure and handling the interview “like a pro.”

NBC News reporter Kasie Hunt applauded Blitzer on Twitter for being “calm cool and collected,” to which the CNN anchor responded, tweeting, “Thanks . . . That is so nice.”

Others expressed sympathy for Blitzer.

People also saw the interview as an opportunity to continue poking fun at Miller, who was recently savaged by the Internet for appearing on “Face the Nation” last weekend with what looked to be fake hair. (Miller, many noticed, was back to his normal baldness for Thursday’s CNN interview).

Miller, however, did receive support from those who argued that he “owned Wolf Blitzer,” describing his appearance as “epic” and “incredible.”

“Stephen Miller is my hero,” tweeted Jacob Wohl, the 21-year-old pro-Trump conspiracy theorist who received national attention for allegedly being part of a scheme to discredit special counsel Robert S. Mueller III.

 

 

[Howl]

That interview showcases Stephen Millers terrifying fanaticism.  "THERE'S DANGER HEADED TO THE BORDER!!!!! WALL!!!! WALLLL!!!! WAAAAAALLLLLLL." 

 

[Audrey2]

4 hours ago, AmazonGrace said:

 

To infinity... and beyond!

[GreyhoundFan]

More about the vampire

Spoiler

WASHINGTON — The author of a new tell-all book about the White House under President Donald Trump says one of Trump’s top policy advisers spoke dismissively about refugees.

Stephen Miller, who has pushed Trump to adopt stricter immigration policies, is quoted as saying, “I would be happy if not a single refugee foot ever again touched American soil,” according to Cliff Sims, a former White House communications aide and author of “Team of Vipers: My 500 Extraordinary Days in the Trump White House,” due in stores Tuesday.

The Associated Press obtained a copy Monday.

Miller did not respond to an emailed request for comment. White House spokeswoman Sarah Sanders said during a rare televised briefing Monday, “I’m not aware of any statement like that that Stephen Miller has ever made.”

The White House has reviewed Sims’ book but has tried to avoid being drawn into public discussion to avoid bringing more attention to Sims’ accounts.

Sims writes that, any time a refugee or immigrant committed a “gruesome” crime, Miller would walk over to the White House press office to demand that press releases be issued about the cases. Sims says Miller made the comment about refugees during a conversation the two were having about immigration.

Miller’s quote is included in a book in which Sims compares many of Trump’s aides - past and president and even including the author - to a team of “vipers.”

Sims’ book is due on store shelves the same day as another behind-the-scenes account of Trump’s team, titled “Let Me Finish: Trump, the Kushners, Bannon, New Jersey, and the Power of In-Your-Face Politics,” by former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie. Christie challenged Trump for the Republican presidential nomination in 2016 but endorsed Trump after dropping out.

Christie then oversaw Trump’s transition until he was fired shortly after the November election, allegedly at the urging of Jared Kushner, Trump’s son-in-law and senior adviser. Christie, during his tenure as a federal prosecutor, sent Kushner’s father - businessman Charles Kushner — to prison after winning his conviction on tax evasion and other crimes.

Sims began rolling out his book Monday with a media blitz that included an appearance on ABC’s “Good Morning America” and a sit-down with late-night TV host Stephen Colbert of CBS.

Christie was due to visit with Colbert on Tuesday.

 

[Howl]

Stephen Miller is an evil little shit.  I'd guess that no one wants him to come home for Thanksgiving or Jewish holidays. 

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[fraurosena]

Introducing the de facto president:

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Stephen Miller says tough immigration policies protect Americans. His critics see something darker."

Spoiler

Over the last few days, President Trump has signaled a major shake-up at the Department of Homeland Security. Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen was asked to step down; other top officials may soon follow. White House sources say it’s part of a plan to get tougher on immigration.

One key person behind that push: White House aide Stephen Miller.

Miller helped craft some of the president’s most controversial immigration policies. He helped draft an executive order banning travelers from seven predominantly Muslim countries from entering the United States. More recently, he helped craft the family separation policy, designed to discourage families from seeking asylum at the U.S.-Mexico border.

Of course, the president’s hard-line position on immigration didn’t start with Miller. The day Trump launched his presidential campaign, he accused Mexico of sending people “that have lots of problems,” to the United States. “They’re bringing drugs,” Trump said. “They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists.”

Since partnering with Trump’s agenda, Miller has advocated for policies that would restrict immigration.

He has explained this as a broader push for law and order. “Right now, as we speak, there is a surge of illegal immigration heading towards our country that presents a national crisis now,” Miller said on CNN, while defending the president’s government shutdown in January. “This president took an oath like every lawmaker in Congress to defend the citizens of this country. How many more innocent people have to die in pursuit of an open-borders agenda?”

But his critics see something darker: a fight for a particular kind of American identity, framed around race.

Miller, the son of Jewish Democrats, grew up in white, affluent, liberal Santa Monica, Calif. Jason Islas, a liberal activist and a childhood friend of Miller’s, told the Atlantic that it was the type of community that “conspicuously celebrate[d] diversity in very self-congratulatory ways” while ignoring some deeper race issues.

Even in high school, Miller pushed back against these ideas, often arguing that he was doing so to promote free speech. Conversations about diversity and multiculturalism were prevalent at Santa Monica High School.

Adrian Karima, an Iranian immigrant who took an advanced-placement government class with Miller, said Miller often accused the teacher trying to indoctrinate students with liberal politics. “He saw it as being outnumbered in Santa Monica,” she told CNN, and argued for “trying to preserve any idea of Americanism that he felt, particularly by pushing English-speaking first.”

That emphasis on race is echoed by others. “Shortly before they started high school, Islas recalled, Miller informed him that they couldn’t be friends anymore, citing Islas’s ‘Latino heritage’ as one of several reasons,” the Atlantic reported.

Miller continued to provoke and nurture his conservatism at Duke University. As a student, Miller invited conservative activist David Horowitz to campus and wrote a controversial college newspaper column in which he argued, among other things, that multiculturalism threatens American identity.

After college, Miller moved to Washington, D.C., to work for members of Congress. He began his career with then-Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and eventually moved to the office of then-Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.). In 2016, Miller joined Trump’s presidential campaign as a senior policy adviser.

In that role, he has secured an “iron grip on Trump’s immigration policies,” Politico writes, and has advocated for “radically tighter borders.” He has praised the president’s reading of a poem at campaign rallies comparing Syrian refugees to poisonous snakes. He supports the president’s border wall and has defended the shutdown that accompanied it. He has pushed to slash the number of refugees the United States accepts and to make it harder for undocumented immigrants to obtain legal status.

Miller rejects the idea that he is shaping the president’s immigration policy. He says he is just carrying out what Trump wants. “My job is simple,” he told the Atlantic. “The president has made clear what he wants to accomplish, and I’ll do the best I can to help that happen.”

But his critics don’t see it that way. Miller, they argue, is advocating for policies that would benefit white Americans and keep others out. “Stephen Miller is a white nationalist,” Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.) tweeted Monday. “The fact that he still has influence on policy and political appointments is an outrage.”

Richard Painter, a White House ethics lawyer during President George W. Bush’s administration, called Miller “the most notorious racist in the Trump White House.”

Trump has been repeatedly accused of emboldening white nationalism with his divisive rhetoric, unwillingness to speak out aggressively against racism and immigration policies. Increasingly, it appears he is relying on Miller to shape those approaches.

 

[Soulhuntress]

On 1/29/2019 at 8:50 PM, Howl said:

Stephen Miller is an evil little shit.  I'd guess that no one wants him to come home for Thanksgiving or Jewish holidays. 

The guy has a mentor in Richard Spencer.  Yes that neo nazi punk.  I would be shocked if he wants to deal with the family with that kind of friend.....

[GreyhoundFan]

The vampire rose from the crypt briefly today: "Stephen Miller lets the mask slip"

Spoiler

When you’re a politician who has said something indefensible or an ally/staffer appearing on behalf of that politician, dealing with especially tough questions in interviews has a pretty set routine. The first time, you dodge the question and/or attempt a weak defense. If the questioner follows up, you try changing the subject. And if the interviewer still continues to press, you quickly answer the question to move the interview along. What you definitely don’t do is snarl like the killer at the end of a detective show and lay bare your hate bare.

That’s what you don’t do — unless you’re Stephen Miller. The senior policy adviser to the president made a rare media appearance on “Fox News Sunday” to defend the president’s repeated broadsides against four Democratic congresswomen of color. Those attacks started last weekend with Trump’s racist tweets suggesting that they “go back” to their places of origin. At a Wednesday rally, Trump supporters chanted “send her back” about Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.), born in Somalia; the president disavowed the slogan the next day before reversing himself a day later and defending the chanters as “patriotic.” And on Sunday morning he launched another volley, tweeting, “I don’t believe the four Congresswomen are capable of loving our Country.”

Miller’s Republican counterparts on other networks adopted the usual playbook. For example, on CNN, Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) first engaged in some rhetorical dancing, including the preposterous claim that “the whole America love-it-or-leave it is not — not a new sentiment. Back in the ’60s, that wasn’t considered racist.” (That would be news to George Wallace, for one.) But pressed on the president’s latest charge, Johnson tersely replied, “I don’t agree with it.”

Back on Fox, host Chris Wallace asked Miller: Why shouldn’t people see the latest attacks and other controversial Trump comments (e.g., “very fine people”) as racism? The White House policy adviser first tried to shift the subject, saying, “I think the term ‘racist,’ Chris, has become a label that is too often deployed by left [and] Democrats in this country simply to try to silence and punish and suppress people they disagree with.” When Wallace persisted in pointing out the basic fact that questioning the first black president’s place of birth “is playing the race card,” Miller shifted to whataboutism, attacking rhetoric from two of the congresswomen, Omar and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.)

But Wallace pointed out that “during his 2016 campaign, and even as president, Mr. Trump has been as critical of this country as anything” the congresswomen have said. Pivoting off the mention of Ocasio-Cortez, Wallace asked Miller to defend Trump’s false claim that the New York congresswoman had called “our country and our people ‘garbage.’” (Actually, Ocasio-Cortez was referring to particular policies, not the country.) When Miller obliged, Wallace cited a 2014 tweet from Trump, in which Trump said the United States under Obama was “garbage.” Miller, clearly peeved at being caught in a trap, snapped:

Throughout this interview, Chris, you’re continuing to conflate Donald Trump’s criticisms of President Obama versus AOC’s deep and systemic criticisms of the country itself.

And so, let me just cut to the heart of the issue. These four congresswomen detest America as it exists, as it is currently constructed. They want to tear down the structure of our country. They want it to be a socialist, open borders country.

If you, as Donald Trump says, want to destroy America with open borders, you cannot say you love your country. If you attack border agents the way that Ocasio-Cortez has, it means you have a deep-seated hatred of the nation as it exists. That’s why you want to erase its borders, fundamentally transform the country and in the process, it doesn’t matter if American citizens lose their jobs, lose their homes, lose their livelihoods, lose their health coverage and lose their very lives.

Miller’s words do more than just undercut his earlier whataboutism and distraction. They lay bare (again) the authoritarianism at the heart of the Trump administration: To disagree with this president is to disagree with America itself. To criticize the country is to tear it down. To suggest America, as “currently constructed," is imperfect is to threaten Americans’ “very lives.”

As a political tactic, portraying policy disagreements as disloyalty has long been a staple of U.S. politics. We saw it, for example, during the Iraq War when cynical Republicans liked to imply that any critique of the war was an attack on the troops and the country. But Miller’s formulation, with its conscious inclusion of national identity and subconscious-but-no-less-obvious inclusion of race, is an especially hateful ideology. Sadly, as demonstrated on Wednesday, the president’s most loyal supporters agree with it. It is a chilling vision, and the sooner its adherents are out of power, the better.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

[Howl]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

"Who is Katie Waldman? Mike Pence's New Press Secretary is Dating Trump Adviser Stephen Miller, Worked Under Kristjen Nielsen"

Spoiler

Vice President Mike Pence has reportedly hired a new press secretary who was a spokeswoman for the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and happens to be dating President Donald Trump's senior adviser Stephen Miller.

Pence's new press secretary, Katie Waldman, previously served as deputy press secretary under former Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen and defended the Trump administration's immigration policy that led to family separations. Waldman will assume her new role on October 1, according to NBC News.

"She's got extensive experience, and she'll be a great fit in our office," Pence's chief of staff Marc Short told the news outlet. "She's shown she has the mettle to handle intense environments."

Waldman, 27, is dating Miller, 34, noted Washington Post reporter Nick Miroff, who covers DHS, immigration enforcement and border security. Miller, who also serves as Trump's speechwriter, believes in hard-line immigration policies and has greatly influenced the Trump administration's immigration agenda.

Waldman's views on immigration seem to align with Miller's, as she defended the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" policy that led to the separation of thousands of children from their families at the U.S.-Mexico border. Miller was apparently the architect of the policy, which the Trump administration did away with after heavy criticism from Democrats and some Republicans.

Richard Painter, a former chief ethics lawyer under President George W. Bush, told Newsweek on Thursday there are "no ethics rules on dating," but that Waldman should recuse herself from matters involving Miller under the impartiality rule.

Painter pointed out that Pence has separated himself from some of Trump's more controversial policies and expressed concern that Waldman could "lock the vice president into the pro-Miller faction."

"When I think about it, I am very worried that she doesn't completely recuse herself from making any comments that have anything to do with Stephen Miller or the policies Stephen Miller is pushing," Painter said.

Senator Steve Daines (R-Mont.), who hired Waldman to be his press secretary after winning his seat in 2014, described her as having "a very strong personality" and an "incredible work ethic," according to NBC News. Waldman is leaving her position as communications director for Senator Martha McSally (R-Ariz.) to work for Pence.

Waldman is filling the shoes of Alyssa Farah, who stepped down earlier this month to take a job as a spokeswoman for the Department of Defense.

A senior Trump administration official who worked with Waldman at DHS told NBC News that "she's pro-Trump and that checks all the boxes."

Waldman previously worked for the National Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee.

Critics of Miller and his policies dominated Twitter talk about Waldman.

"But I'm not going to bury the lede here-she is dating Stephen Miller per @NickMiroff," lawyer and BBC commentator Amee Vanderpool tweeted.

Another Twitter user wrote, "@katiewaldman You love Trump and you are dating Stephen Miller — Your life sounds like a horror movie."

The thought that he might spawn is nauseating.

[fraurosena]

Oh, those poor children... will he keep them in cages too?

 

[GreyhoundFan]

42 minutes ago, fraurosena said:

Oh, those poor children... will he keep them in cages too?

 

Probably not, because they would be white. However, we could direct him to Jill Rodrigues if he needs some tips on baby cages.

Edited September 19, 2019 by GreyhoundFan

[GreyhoundFan]

He is evil: "Under secret Stephen Miller plan, ICE to use data on migrant children to expand deportation efforts"

Spoiler

The White House sought this month to embed immigration enforcement agents within the U.S. refugee agency that cares for unaccompanied migrant children, part of a long-standing effort to use information from their parents and relatives to target them for deportation, according to six current and former administration officials.

Though senior officials at the Department of Health and Human Services rejected the attempt, they agreed to allow Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to collect fingerprints and other biometric information from adults seeking to claim migrant children at government shelters. If those adults are deemed ineligible to take custody of children, ICE could then use their information to target them for arrest and deportation.

The arrangement appears to circumvent laws that restrict the use of the refu­gee program for deportation enforcement; Congress has made clear that it does not want those who come forward as potential sponsors of minors in U.S. custody to be frightened away by possible deportation. But, in the reasoning of senior Trump administration officials, adults denied custody of children lose their status as “potential sponsors” and are fair game for arrest.

The plan has not been announced publicly. It was developed by Stephen Miller, President Trump’s top immigration adviser, who has long argued that HHS’s Office of Refugee Resettlement is being exploited by parents who hire smugglers to bring their children into the United States illegally. The agency manages shelters that care for underage migrants who cross the border without a parent and tries to identify sponsors — typically family members — eligible to take custody of the minors.

Previous Trump administration attempts to give ICE more access to the refu­gee program have generated significant opposition, because it potentially forces migrant parents to choose between reclaiming their children and risking arrest. Administration officials acknowledge the arrangement will instill fear among migrant parents, but they say it will deter families from having their children cross into the United States illegally.

Officials at ICE and HHS said that the information shared with enforcement agents primarily would be used to screen adults for criminal violations and other “red flags,” and that it would not be focused on capturing parents and relatives who come forward to claim what the government calls “unaccompanied alien children.”

Bryan Cox, an ICE spokesman, said his agency will help HHS ensure that children are not placed with sponsors until the sponsors have been thoroughly vetted, a review process that includes using biometric data. Cox said his agency has more-powerful screening tools at its disposal than HHS has, “including better capabilities to identify fraudulent documents or documents obtained by fraud.”

After the Trump administration began a similar information-sharing initiative last year, which predictably led to fewer sponsors coming forward and created a massive backlog of children in U.S. custody, Democrats fought to put a firewall between ICE and ORR. Language in the 2019 funding bill specifically prohibited the Department of Homeland Security from using child sponsor data — addresses, names, phone numbers — to generate ICE target lists.

According to those provisions, no federal funds “may be used by the Secretary of Homeland Security to place in detention, remove, refer for a decision whether to initiate removal proceedings, or initiate removal proceedings against a sponsor, potential sponsor, or member of a household of a sponsor or potential sponsor of an unaccompanied alien child.”

HHS officials have generally tried to keep ICE at a distance, insisting that their agency’s mission is to safeguard children and not to facilitate the arrest of their relatives.

Cox defended the legality of the program, citing the technical wording of the law: When a potential sponsor’s application is rejected, “that individual is no longer considered to be a sponsor or potential sponsor,” and the person is therefore open to ICE arrest, he said.

While acknowledging the program could leave children in government custody for longer periods, Cox said better screening “should take precedence over speed of placement to what may ultimately be an unsafe environment for the child.”

ICE officials said their enforcement priority would be adult sponsors with criminal records.

Mark Weber, a spokesman for HHS, which oversees ORR, said in a written response that no ICE personnel are stationed at the agency and that there are “no plans for ICE personnel to be placed at HHS.”

Weber did not address questions about the legality of the new information-sharing agreement with ICE.

Three officials familiar with Miller’s plan said it was part of his broader effort to chip away at congressionally mandated barriers between ICE and the refugee program.

The White House did not respond to requests for comment Friday. One senior administration official who spoke on the condition of anonymity said the Trump administration — which was widely denounced for separating thousands of children from their parents last year under its “zero tolerance” border crackdown — is “in the business of protecting child welfare.”

“Smuggling children into our country is an abomination and horrible for child welfare, and under the system set up under the Obama administration, the level of child smuggling has been atrocious,” the senior administration official said.

By expanding ICE’s role at ORR “we’ll be able to significantly reduce the incentives for child smuggling, and protect thousands — thousands — of children.”

Some officials at U.S. Customs and Border Protection have objected to past information-sharing efforts between ORR and ICE, saying that the practice discourages adult sponsors from reclaiming children in U.S. government custody. When fewer adults come forward, more children must stay in shelters and border stations, and CBP has been faced with caring for infants and young children in austere facilities designed for the short-term detention of adults.

As the migration crisis at the border has abated in recent months, Miller has once again worked to tear down the information wall between the refu­gee agency and ICE, according to those familiar with his efforts.

Miller arranged the new information-sharing plan through discussions with ORR Director Jonathan Hayes, according to two of those officials who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity because they fear being fired.

As part of the plan, a senior official at ICE’s Enforcement and Removal Operations unit, Caleb Vitello, was supposed to be temporarily assigned to work inside ORR. But senior HHS officials rejected that part of the plan during a meeting Thursday, two administration officials said. White House officials have privately denounced HHS staff as having “sabotaged” attempts at implementing information-sharing agreements.

Vitello had previously worked with Miller at the White House on assignment to the National Security Council, according to three officials who have worked with both men.

HHS Secretary Alex Azar was not informed of Miller’s effort to place an ICE official at his agency, two officials said.

Azar has worked to keep his agency out of the maelstrom of immigration politics after the “zero tolerance” episode, which separated at least 2,700 children from their parents or other adult relatives until Trump was forced to reverse course.

According to the latest ORR data, the government has approximately 4,300 minors in its care, down from 15,000 a year ago. Children spend an average of 69 days in ORR custody, down from 93 days a year ago but still far longer than in recent years.

Before zero tolerance, minors spent an average of about 50 days in government shelters, even though ORR had responsibility for twice as many children at the time.

HHS also is seeing a growing number of cases they call “category four,” which mean the agency cannot find a parent, relative or other eligible adult to take custody. After several months, those minors are typically placed in long-term foster care. An HHS official said the agency does not have an available tally of the number of category four children.

Arrests on the U.S. side of the border with Mexico have fallen more than 70 percent since May, when 144,116 migrants were taken into custody amid a record influx of families and children from Central America.

The Trump administration has implemented deterrent measures making it significantly more difficult for migrants who cross the border to qualify for U.S. asylum protections. Since the beginning of the year, border officials have sent more than 53,000 migrants back to Mexico to wait outside U.S. territory while their asylum claims are processed.

The government also has started sending asylum seekers to Guatemala under the terms of one of several new agreements that will allow Homeland Security officials to send those seeking refuge in the United States to the same crime-plagued region they are fleeing.

Those measures cannot be used to reject underage migrants who arrive and seek protection in the United States, so administration officials continue to view the ORR program as a “loophole” that allows migrants living illegally in the United States to send for their children to be brought into the country.

The number of unaccompanied minors taken into custody increased 17 percent from October to November, to 3,321, while two other significant demographic categories — family groups and single adults — continued to show declines, the latest enforcement figures show.

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I'm surprised they didn't wear their formal Klan attire. I was reading more about her and she's just as ugly and nasty as her new husband.

[countressrascal]

Just hope they do not breed

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[fraurosena]

19 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I'm surprised they didn't wear their formal Klan attire. I was reading more about her and she's just as ugly and nasty as her new husband.

They had an Elvis impersonator at their wedding, and held it at gaudy Trump International? That was a hella tacky wedding if ever there was one...

Wait, what's Stephen got on his head in that first pic? Is that a kippah, or has he used the spray can again? 

And ugh, why oh why refer to yourself with another person's name? It's like you're erasing your own agency. I'm not me anymore, I'm just a prop for his ego now. 

[GreyhoundFan]

2 hours ago, fraurosena said:

And ugh, why oh why refer to yourself with another person's name? It's like you're erasing your own agency. I'm not me anymore, I'm just a prop for his ego now. 

A guy who I knew in college was way ahead of his time. When he married his girlfriend, they both changed their name. Say his last name was Smith and hers was Jones, they both became Jones-Smith. This was in the 1980s. Most of the guys I knew thought he was crazy. The women thought he was being equitable.

[GreyhoundFan]

 

[GreyhoundFan]

He is evil:

More from the thread under the spoiler:

Spoiler

 

 

[GreyhoundFan]

I laughed myself silly at this:

I love the Onion

[JMarie]

7 hours ago, GreyhoundFan said:

I laughed myself silly at this:

I love the Onion

Are you absolutely sure this didn't really happen???????