White House Aide Responds to CNN Question on Immigration Profiling
Stephen Miller, Deputy Chief of Staff for White House Policy, pushed back against a question from CNN Anchor Boris Sanchez regarding racial profiling in the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement efforts. During an appearance on “CNN News Central,” Sanchez pressed him about claims made by Illinois Governor JB Pritzker, who accused Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) of targeting people based on skin color.
Sanchez asked, “Doesn’t you profile brown people, as Pritzker frames it, mean that this immigrant crackdown is designed to chase people of color?” Miller laughed off the question at first.
“Ah, what a stupid question. The illegal aliens here are taking jobs from black people. They take jobs from white people. They take jobs from Latinos. They take health benefits,” Miller responded. “They are taking the slots in schools, and of course, they are committing heinous crimes. In this country, you can’t have a system of law that privileges illegal aliens over American citizens. That’s what they do. You know that.”
Sanchez contended that Miller’s remarks didn’t address Pritzker’s allegations directly. “When I said that was a stupid question, I thought it meant no,” Miller said, reiterating his position. Sanchez maintained that his queries were reasonable, prompting Miller to elaborate further.
“My complete answer is no, that’s a lie, and that’s a stupid question,” Miller added.
On September 8, the Supreme Court approved the Trump administration’s request to remove restrictions on immigration enforcement in Los Angeles. The administration sought to block lower court rulings involving protections based on race, geography, job type, or language skills.
Justices Sonia Sotomayor, Elena Kagan, and Ketanji Brown Jackson expressed disagreement with this decision. Sotomayor stated, “There shouldn’t be a need for governments to grab people who look like Latino, speak Spanish, and do low-paid jobs. I disagree, rather than standing vaguely while our constitutional freedom is lost.”
Furthermore, on September 9, the White House issued a statement rejecting claims of “racial profiling.” An article from the administration emphasized that the authority to question individuals about their immigration status is not considered racial profiling.
