Stephen Miller, the architect of the president’s mass deportation agenda, has been less visible in recent months, sparking speculation that the president had tired of his hard-line immigration tactics.
In fact, Miller is in the middle of what officials described as a choreographed retreat, moving out of the spotlight while retaining the same influence over U.S. immigration policy, The Daily Beast reports, citing senior administration sources.
He and border czar Tom Homan remain the power players on U.S. immigration policy, rather than the newly appointed Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, the sources said.
One claimed Mullin made a point to tell Miller “how well he had been doing so far.”
“Miller and Homan are in lock step,” one of the sources told the outlet. “It’s almost like a tag team.”
When asked by The Independent about this alleged strategic move, the White House pointed to a previous statement from communications director Steven Cheung.
“Stephen Miller is one of President Trump’s most trusted and longest serving aides,” the statement read. “Stephen has worked relentlessly to expeditiously implement every facet of the President’s America First agenda and he will continue to do so. The President loves Stephen and the White House staff respects him tremendously.”
“This is one team, and we have one fight to secure the homeland. Secretary Mullin works closely with President Trump, Stephen Miller, and Tom Homan to deliver on the American people’s mandate to remove criminal illegal aliens from this country,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement.
More could be revealed about the future direction of U.S. immigration policy when the administration selects a new director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Todd Lyons, the current director, plans to step down on May 31.
Mullin reportedly wants Tulsa County Sheriff Vic Regalado, a fellow Oklahoman and ally, to lead the agency.
Meanwhile, David Venturella, who oversees DHS detention center contractors and was a former private prison executive, is seen as an ally of Homan’s and a potential pick.
Regardless of who’s ultimately pulling the strings at Homeland Security, it is clear the Trump administration has backed away slightly from its most aggressive immigration tactics and officials.
After agents shot two protesters, the White House drew down the immigration force in Minnesota, fired Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, and reportedly directed agents to cut back on some of their most controversial tactics, including cuffing immigrants in courthouses and carrying out warrantless arrests.
The Border Patrol’s hard-charging Gregory Bovino, the leader of the roving “turn and burn” force of masked agents making arrests across the country, soon returned to his sector in California and then retired.
The administration then reportedly ditched a fast-track immigration agent training program, which the administration adopted last year amid Miller’s push to fund and hire thousands of new agents with billions of dollars in unprecedented funding he helped steer to immigration enforcement.
Immigration arrests fell sharply after their late 2025 / early 2026 peak, according to an April analysis of federal data by The Associated Press.
Critics of Miller said they wouldn’t be satisfied until he was out of government completely.
“Until Stephen Miller is fired, he is still the architect of the Trump regime and its white-nationalist, fascist mandate to terrorize our neighbors and profit from our pain,” Rep. Delia C. Ramirez of Illinois, whose home state was hit hard by immigration operations, wrote on X on Monday. “We will not rest until Stephen Miller and all those who have abused their power and harmed our communities are held accountable.”
