Stephen Miller Also Benefitted from 'NOT ACCEPTABLE' Chain Migration
First Melania Trump, now Stephen Miller.
A scathing Monday column in Politico has revealed that yet another member of President Trump's administration benefitted from chain migration, something the president once called "NOT ACCEPTABLE!"
As Reason previously reported, First Lady Melania Trump's parents became U.S. citizens last week by using the first lady as a sponsor. The family-based path to citizenship, often referred to as "chain migration," is the most common form of immigration and relies on a green card holder or a legal U.S. resident to sponsor a foreign family member. Prior to the first lady's use of the procedure for her parents, the president suggested limiting its use to spouses and minor children. Among his many criticisms of the practice, Trump once asserted that chain migration "cannot be allowed to be part of any legislation on Immigration."
According to David S. Glosser, uncle of White House policy adviser Stephen Miller, Miller's family also benefitted from chain migration. On Monday, Glosser wrote in Politico that Miller's maternal great-grandfather, Sam Glosser, became a U.S. citizen after various ancestors sent enough money to Eastern Europe to pay off debts and sponsor the passage of immediate family members to America. Glosser criticized his nephew, "who is an educated man and well aware of his heritage," for becoming "the architect of immigration policies that repudiate the very foundation of our family's life in this country." He argued that had Miller's immigration policies been enacted in the 20th century, the family may have become victims of "violent anti-Jewish pogroms and forced childhood conscription in the Czar's army."
Similar to Trump, Miller has backed legislation that would end chain migration. When the merit-based Reforming American Immigration for Strong Employment (RAISE) Act was introduced by congressional Republicans in August 2017, Miller explained to the White House pool reporters that the bill sought to eliminate "so-called chain migration." Like Trump, he said that the bill would limit family-based migration to "spouses and minor children."
When asked about his ideal number of immigrants to the U.S., Miller told Fox News' Tucker Carlson in January, "I have my own views on it, but I think the important point is ending chain migration, as the president has called for, is necessary not just for economic security but for national security." He also confirmed that the administration was not merely looking to limit chain migration, but to eliminate it in favor of merit-based immigration.