Stephen Miller ‘eviscerated’ ICE officials in private meeting for low deportation numbers

By Anna Giaritelli
May 30, 2025 7:51 pm

Top Trump administration officials are unhappy with arrest and deportation numbers and have lambasted the federal immigration officials responsible for the operation, the Washington Examiner learned. … Three current and former federal immigration officials detailed a recent heated exchange between White House deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller and dozens of senior U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials in Washington in late May.

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ICE’s top 50 field officials were given roughly a week’s notice of an emergency meeting in Washington. … ICE’s 25 Enforcement Removal Operations, or ERO, field office directors and 25 Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, special agents in charge flew into Washington and descended on the agency’s Washington headquarters last Tuesday, May 20. There, they were met by Miller, ICE confirmed to the Washington Examiner.

“Miller came in there and eviscerated everyone. ‘You guys aren’t doing a good job. You’re horrible leaders.’ He just ripped into everybody. He had nothing positive to say about anybody, shot morale down,” said the first official, who spoke with those in the room that day. … “Stephen Miller wants everybody arrested. ‘Why aren’t you at Home Depot? Why aren’t you at 7-Eleven?'” the official recited.

One of the ERO officials in attendance stood up and stated that the Department of Homeland Security and the White House had publicly messaged about targeting criminal illegal immigrants, and therefore, ICE was targeting them, and not the general illegal immigration population. … “Miller said, ‘What do you mean you’re going after criminals?’ Miller got into a little bit of a pissing contest. ‘That’s what Tom Homan says every time he’s on TV: ‘We’re going after criminals,'” the ICE official told Miller, according to the first official.

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