“In the past three and a half years, the Trump Administration has dismantled immigration policies and precedents that took shape in the course of decades, using current laws to intensify enforcement against illegal immigration and pursuing new ones to reduce legal immigration. Trump has slashed the refugee program; virtually ended asylum at the southern border; and written a rule denying green cards to families who might receive public benefits. [Stephen] Miller has choreographed these initiatives, convincing Trump that his political future depends on them—and on going even further.”

— Jonathan Blitzer in his New Yorker feature, “Get Out,” about Trump immigration adviser Stephen Miller. The piece makes me think yet again that there's a low threshold for rising in the Republican party. You just need to be an asshole, and vocal about it, and make the right connections. For Miller, it was: contrarian political column at Duke -> press secretary for Rep. Michelle Bachman -> communications job with Sen. Jeff Sessions -> Trump campaign adviser. That's how a 30-something asshole got to run U.S. immigration policy. A good, infuriating piece.