Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller just managed to make his decades‑long reputation for immigration jack-assery look even worse — and this time, legal experts and critics alike are slamming him for it.
On Fox News’s The Will Cain Show, Miller told ICE agents they enjoy “immunity to perform your duties” and claimed that “no city official, no state official, no illegal alien, no leftist agitator or domestic insurrectionist — can prevent you from fulfilling your legal obligations and duties…if officials cross that line into obstruction … then they will face justice.”
That statement wasn’t just wildly misleading — it was flat‑out wrong. Federal agents do not enjoy blanket immunity from prosecution for criminal behavior, and states can prosecute federal officers who break the law.
Legal scholars were quick to pounce. Georgetown law expert Steve Vladeck has repeatedly pointed out that Miller’s interpretation of “immunity” is legally dubious at best.
Critics described the remark as “utterly chilling” and a potential green light for abuse, suggesting it essentially handed ICE officers an open season on immigrants and citizens alike. One commentator went as far as saying it could make Miller personally responsible for the next American killed by an ICE agent.
Don’t forget the context here: this comment came in the aftermath of the shooting death of Renee Nicole Good, a 37‑year‑old Minnesota mother who was killed by an ICE agent while trying to drive away from a protest. Video footage contradicted early claims, and the administration’s efforts to paint Good as a “domestic terrorist” have only amplified scrutiny on ICE’s conduct.
Miller’s remarks were echoed — even amplified — by the Department of Homeland Security’s official X account, which reposted a clip of the segment as a “REMINDER” to agents. That move did nothing to cool the backlash.
On social media, outrage spread quickly. Critics seized on Miller’s lack of legal training, with one legal commentator bluntly stating, “He’s not a lawyer.” Others warned that if Miller is effectively directing ICE agents with such pronouncements, he could be acting as a principal civil officer — potentially even opening the door to impeachment talk.
Even outside legal circles, voices on social platforms blasted the message as a virtual green light for violence and unchecked enforcement, saying it emboldened ICE agents to act without fear of legal consequences.
At the end of the day, Miller’s attempt to rally ICE agents with grandiose talk of “federal immunity” has backfired dramatically. Instead of comforting agents, he’s drawn a firestorm from lawyers, critics, and ordinary observers — making the White House’s immigration policy look not just legally shaky, but dangerously unmoored from reality.
