Miller later attended , where he studied and wrote Miller Time, an opinion column for the school’s newspaper, The Chronicle. According to some of his former classmates, he embraced being a provocateur, and his columns were often polarizing. This was especially true of his coverage of Duke’s lacrosse scandal. In 2006 the university received national attention when a Black woman who had been hired as a striptease dancer at a party alleged that members of the men’s lacrosse team had raped her. Miller defended the three accused players, and in one article he wrote, “The racial left claimed the lacrosse players got preferential treatment because they were white. In reality, their skin color appeared to earn them something very different—a witchhunt.” Miller appeared on several national TV shows, including The O’Reilly Factor on the . Charges against the players were later dropped, and the prosecutor was disbarred for ethical violations. In a 2016 interview with Politico Magazine, Miller said, The thing that I’m proudest of is that I spoke out early and often on behalf of American legal principles in the Duke lacrosse case when it was not popular. I take great pride that, under enormous social and political pressure, I remained steadfast in my support for . Congressional staffer After graduating in 2007, Miller pursued a career in Republican politics, working as a congressional staffer. He was hired as a press secretary for U.S. Rep. (Minnesota) and later served as communications director for Rep. John Shadegg (Arizona). In 2009 Miller began working for Sen. (Alabama), who was noted for his opposition to immigration. Miller, who eventually became chief of communications, reportedly encouraged Sessions to become more combative and often supplied him with talking points. Their views on immigration were shared by , a key figure at the conservative Breitbart News, and the three men often worked in tandem to advance their policies. They have been credited with laying the political groundwork that helped Trump get elected in 2016. Adviser to Trump During the , Miller joined ’s campaign as a policy adviser. (Bannon also worked on the campaign, and Sessions was the first senator to endorse Trump.) Miller later became a speechwriter and was sometimes Trump’s warm-up speaker at rallies. After Trump won, Miller served as a senior policy adviser in the administration. His primary responsibility was shaping immigration policies. Notably, he was a leading advocate of the family separation policy, in which children were taken from parents who had illegally crossed the U.S.-Mexico border. Miller also supported the so-called Muslim ban, which barred entry into the from several Muslim-majority countries., Stephen Miller (born August 23, 1985) is an American political advisor serving since 2025 as the White House deputy chief of staff for policy and the 12th United States homeland security advisor., Stephen Miller is a Republican political adviser who serves as deputy chief of staff for policy and as homeland security adviser in U.S. Pres Donald Trump’s second administration (2025– ). He previously was a senior policy adviser during Trump’s first presidential term (2017–21)..