Stephen Miller will be Trump's homeland security advisor in new White House role

President-elect Donald Trump has announced Stephen Miller will be White House deputy chief of staff for policy. He will also be the president's homeland security advisor.

The role puts Miller back at the White House where he is expected to take on a leading role writing and implementing Trump's immigration agenda, which includes plans for mass deportations of undocumented immigrants.

Miller's appointment — which does not require Senate confirmation — was announced with a slate of other White House deputy chiefs of staff including Dan Scavino, James Blair and Taylor Budowich.

"Dan, Stephen, James, and Taylor were 'best in class' advisors on my winning campaign, and I know they will honorably serve the American people in the White House," Trump said in a statement.

"This is another fantastic pick by the president," Vice President-elect JD Vance posted on x.com Monday, an apparent confirmation of Miller's rumored appointment, prior to Trump's statement on Wednesday.

Miller is one of Trump's longest-serving and most trusted advisers. He worked with Trump on his 2016 presidential campaign before joining him at the White House as a senior adviser.

He's known best for his role as a lead author of some of the Trump administration's strongest immigration plans in his first administration, including the highly controversial zero tolerance policies that led to children being separated from their parents.

Once Trump left office, Miller went on to start America First Legal, a non profit that was supposed to be the conservative version of the ACLU. It worked with conservative lawyers who filed hundreds of lawsuits and legal demands, on behalf of conservative causes and against Democrats.

Miller is likely to be one of the most controversial picks in a new Trump administration. But because the deputy job is not a cabinet position, he will not need to seek confirmation by the Senate.

In the final stretch of Trump's 2024 campaign, Miller reprised his warm-up role at some rallies.

"You can have your country back, you can have your future back, you can have your state back," Miller said during one of Trump's final rallies in Salem, Va.