Jewish groups call on Trump to fire senior advisor Stephen Miller

Liberal groups pen letter claiming Jewish policy advisor holds “extreme viewpoints" and promotes "advocacy of racist policies.”

By JTA
Updated: FEBRUARY 10, 2018 10:03
Stephen Miller (photo credit: REUTERS)
Stephen Miller
(photo credit: REUTERS)
Seventeen Jewish groups, including the left-leaning J Street, called on the White House to dismiss Stephen Miller as senior policy adviser.
The organizations, including American Jewish World Service, Americans for Peace Now and T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, issued the call in an open letter they sent Thursday to the White House chief of staff, Gen. John Kelly. The letter was spearheaded by the National Council of Jewish Women.
The co-authors wrote that Miller, who favors an immigration reform he said would benefit applicants who would assimilate more easily into American society than others, has “extreme viewpoints and advocacy of racist policies.”
“As Jews, we are in solidarity with immigrants and refugees and believe that our nation must be a refuge and welcoming home for new Americans,” they wrote. Miller “has been an obstacle to passing widely-supported, bipartisan, popular, badly-needed immigration policy changes throughout his time in the administration.”
Miller, the authors added, was “the architect” of two executive measures limiting admission into the United States from Iran, Libya, Syria, Yemen, Somalia, Chad and North Korea, as well as some Venezuelan officials. Federal judges issued separate temporary restraining orders on those measures.
“He orchestrated cuts to the refugee program, resulting in the lowest admissions number in modern history during the worst refugee crisis since World War II,” the co-authors wrote.
“Stephen Miller opposes the beliefs we hold dear, and while he advises President Trump there will be no forward movement on immigration — to the detriment of this great nation founded by immigrants. We urge you to remove Miller from your team and the White House as soon as possible” the letter reads.
Last month, Miller said his plans for a new immigration policy mean “more assimilation, higher wages, more economic opportunity and better prospects for immigrants and U.S.-born alike.”
In an interview on Fox News, Miller pushed the White House message on immigration reform, calling for a border wall and an end to “chain” migration, the process by which an immigrant can petition to bring family members to the United States, as well as the adjustment of the country’s visa lottery system.
“If Democrats oppose a border,” he said, “they are just saying they want continued, unending illegal immigration.”