White House senior adviser Stephen Miller's family benefitted from America's immigration system in the 19th century, a system he is calling to be reformed.
A recent article by The New York Times painted Miller was one of the loudest voices in the West Wing to urge President Donald Trump's administration to enforce a "zero tolerance" policy at the U.S. border with Mexico. That has led to children being separated from their parents who are attempting illegal entry.
The Times even accused Miller of pushing for the practice, which has occurred during previous administrations, as a way to deter people from trying to sneak into the U.S.
"No nation can have the policy that whole classes of people are immune from immigration law or enforcement," Miller told the Times. "It was a simple decision by the administration to have a zero tolerance policy for illegal entry, period. The message is that no one is exempt from immigration law."
According to a Vanity Fair article from last year, meanwhile, Miller's family tree indicates members of his mother's family emigrated to U.S. from Belarus in 1903 to flee religious persecution.
It is worth noting Miller's family entered the U.S. legally during a time when the rate of legal immigration was on the increase: 857,046 people became permanent residents in 1903, according to the Migration Policy Institute. The current policy of separating families deals with illegal immigration.
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