Officials say immigration enforcement unlikely to scale back as Miller becomes chief of staff

The Trump administration is unlikely to scale back immigration enforcement after Democrats won control of Congress in the midterm elections, U.S. officials said, pointing to the appointment of Stephen Miller as White House chief of staff.^1,7,4

Republicans lost control of the House and the Senate on Tuesday, and Democrats are scheduled to take control of both chambers in January with powers to investigate the administration's immigration enforcement operations and policies. CBS News reported, citing multiple U.S. officials who spoke on condition of anonymity, that officials at the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement had not received instructions to reduce enforcement since the election.^1,4,7

CBS News reported, citing agency sources, that ICE officials in recent weeks were instructed to try to carry out around 19,000 arrests per week, or about 2,700 per day, up from a prior target of 2,000 per day. That target was set before the midterms. On voter views of enforcement, the reports differed: CBS News cited exit polls finding that 58% of voters nationwide said the deportation effort had "gone too far," while an AP Voter Poll of more than 100,000 midterm voters, described in a report republished by the New York Post, put the figure at about 6 in 10 voters, with a similar share disapproving of how ICE was doing its job.^1,5

The officials cited Miller's appointment as an indication that the administration is likely to continue both deportation operations and efforts to restrict legal immigration, CBS News reported. Asked if the midterms would bring reduced enforcement, one official said, "I would count on the opposite" with Miller as chief of staff. The sources also said the administration viewed the election losses as driven largely by concerns about the economy, affordability and the war with Iran, not its immigration enforcement.¹

Trump announced Friday that Miller, his deputy chief of staff, would replace Susie Wiles, who had held the post since the second inauguration in January 2025. Trump said Miller was "one of my most trusted advisers," and said Wiles had done an outstanding job and would be "moving over" to the "Trump political operation." Wiles said her work at the White House was "the honor of a lifetime." The 41-year-old Miller joined Trump's 2016 presidential campaign as a speechwriter and is described as one of Trump's longest-serving advisers.^7,4

Miller addressed supporters alongside Trump at Mar-a-Lago on Friday after the election. "It was the privilege of a lifetime to join President Trump all the way back in 2015 when he came down that Golden Escalator," Miller said. "And let me tell you, if it wasn't for President Trump, the United States of America would not exist right now." He added, "This man saved America," and said, "He saved our military from collapse. He saved our economy from destruction. He saved our border from annihilation. And he saved our country from threats at home and abroad, which would've been the end of the American Dream forever."²

Miller continued, "This man took a bullet for us. He faced down life in prison for us. He saved the Republican Party from the ash heap of history and has made it stronger, more popular, and more resilient than ever before." He said, "We need to stand with the man who has stood with us and this country with every fiber of his being," and said, "It is the honor of my life to be President Trump's Chief of Staff — and I swear to you and I pledge to you, Mr. President, my absolute loyalty, my unwavering commitment, and my total devotion to your success and the success of this country. Thank you, President Trump." Secretary of State Marco Rubio also spoke to the crowd and said Trump had been reelected in 2024 to make difficult decisions even when they carried political consequences.²

France 24 reported that Wiles had been seen by some as a stabilizing force and that Trump was reportedly seeking a more aggressive approach to pushing his agenda with Democrats now controlling both chambers of Congress. White House spokeswoman Lauren Bis said, "This administration will not slow down its efforts to arrest and deport criminal illegal aliens who terrorize our communities. There has never been a President stronger on immigration enforcement than President Trump," and said illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border had fallen to historically low levels after reaching record highs under former President Joe Biden. In a statement Sunday, DHS said ICE would not be "backing away or slowing down" and said, "Under the leadership of President Trump and Secretary Mullin, DHS will continue to enforce our nation's laws and remove criminal illegal aliens from our streets," CBS News reported.^1,4

Miller has for a decade been described as the architect of Trump's immigration policies. He was a top aide during the first administration, when officials barred immigration and travel from Muslim-majority countries and separated thousands of migrant children from their parents under a "zero tolerance" policy that was ended after public opposition. Since Trump's return to the White House, with Miller serving as deputy chief of staff and homeland security adviser, the administration has effectively closed the U.S. asylum system, ended refugee admissions with an exemption for White South Africans, tightened access to legal immigration benefits such as green cards, and carried out visible ICE and Border Patrol arrest operations across the country.¹

Those operations have drawn community opposition, including in January, when federal immigration officials killed two American citizens, Renee Good and Alex Pretti, during an enforcement operation in Minneapolis that the administration later scaled back after bipartisan criticism. Miller has publicly floated the idea of suspending habeas corpus, the conditional right for people to challenge unlawful detention, for ICE detainees. CBS News reported that habeas cases have increased sharply over the past two years as the administration narrowed other ways for people contesting deportation to be released from detention. Miller has also been involved in administration actions concerning universities and legal groups and in investigations into allegations of fraud in Democratic-led states such as Minnesota.¹

Democrats said they plan to use oversight powers once sworn in. Rep. Robert Garcia, a Los Angeles-area Democrat set to lead the House Oversight Committee, warned the administration to "lawyer up," and said investigating alleged abuses at DHS was among his priorities. Mississippi Rep. Bennie Thompson, the ranking Democrat on the House Homeland Security committee, said the next Congress would "address the Trump administration's assault on the rule of law and hold those responsible accountable." Possible subjects include DHS purchases of massive warehouses to hold arrested immigrants, whether ICE cut corners when hiring thousands of new deportation officers, and deaths in ICE detention facilities. Garcia and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut held shadow hearings with family members of people killed during enforcement operations, a whistleblower on ICE training problems and American citizens caught up in operations; no Republicans attended and Democrats could not issue subpoenas, a power they will gain.⁵

There are limits to what a Democratic Congress can do while Trump remains in office for two more years with veto power and after Republicans directed billions of dollars in funding for immigration enforcement. The last time Congress came close to comprehensive immigration reform was in 2013, when a proposal passed the Senate but did not pass the House. Theresa Cardinal Brown, an immigration official at DHS under the Obama and Bush administrations, said she expects Democrats to seek subpoenas, hold oversight hearings and propose measures to limit enforcement funds.^5,1