Emails Detail Miller鈥檚 Ties to Group That Touted White Nationalist Writers
White House senior policy adviser Stephen Miller demonstrates a connection to an anti-immigrant think tank that promoted white nationalist writers, according to emails acquired by Hatewatch.
On Nov. 12, Hatewatch reported that Miller showed an affinity for white nationalist and other extremist thought in more than 900 previously private emails he sent to Breitbart News in the run-up to the 2016 election. At the time, Miller was an aide to then-U.S. Sen. Jeff Sessions of Alabama.
In those same correspondences, Miller shows ties to the think tank听Center for Immigration Studies听(CIS). CIS researchers say the White House has invited them into policymaking discussions. The White House and CIS did not respond to multiple requests for comment on this Hatewatch report.
But CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian did reply in a听National Review op-ed,听criticizing the听Southern Poverty Law Center's approach as being "."
The 人兽性交 began listing CIS as an anti-immigrant hate group in 2016. Since then, 听about the way the group鈥檚 analysts choose to portray immigration in a negative light. In an August , CIS tried to distance itself from a far-right attack in El Paso, Texas, responding to criticism that the organization and the young shooting suspect shared similar viewpoints on immigration.
Miller sent at least 46 emails relating to CIS material, employees or contributors to former Breitbart editor Katie McHugh over 10 months, the emails show. At one point, he sent a CIS report to Breitbart that he described as 鈥渆mbargoed.鈥� In another email, Miller forwarded McHugh the cell phone number of a CIS employee. Miller repeatedly offered CIS research material to McHugh for her reporting.
In 2017,听听from Breitbart reportedly for posting anti-Muslim tweets amid backlash to that site鈥檚 . She has since renounced far-right politics. She shared the entire volume of her correspondences with Miller to Hatewatch, which span from March 2015 to June 2016, out of what she said was opposition to the Trump administration鈥檚 immigration policies.
鈥淲e used [CIS material] to spin a narrative where immigrants of color were not only dangerous, violent individuals but also posed an existential threat to America,鈥� McHugh told Hatewatch about how Breitbart handled research Miller sent to her. 鈥淲e never fact-checked anything. We never called up other organizations to get any other perspective about those studies. 鈥� It was understood. You just write it up.鈥�
Breitbart spokesperson Elizabeth Moore told Hatewatch in part one of our series on Miller's emails that "it is not exactly a newsflash that political staffers pitch stories to journalists." Hatewatch followed up with a specific question about Miller's success in pushing CIS material into Breitbart stories. 鈥淚 don't know what 'CIS' means,鈥� Moore responded in an email. Hatewatch explained the acronym in another email, but Moore did not reply back.
听at a May 2015 CIS event, Miller credited the group for illuminating 鈥渁 debate that far too often operates, like illegal immigrants, in the shadows."
His recommendations of CIS material before the 2016 election often turned directly into xenophobic content for Breitbart, such as when he emailed a CIS report titled 鈥�,鈥� on Jan. 5, 2016.
Miller sent that report to a group of Breitbart editors, including McHugh, with the subject line, 鈥淗uge Surge in US newborns named 'Mohammed.鈥欌�� Then-Breitbart chief Steve Bannon replied to the thread by adding reporter Caroline May. The exchange resulted in a Jan. 6, 2016, story by May on Breitbart, 鈥�.鈥�
Another example of how Miller used CIS content to push negative stories about nonwhite immigration happened Aug. 12, 2015, when he sent McHugh an 鈥渆mbargoed鈥� CIS report called 鈥淚mmigrant Population Hits Record 42.1 Million in Second Quarter of 2015.鈥� The report purported to show that people coming from Mexico were driving an immigration surge.
A press representative for a nonprofit group typically notifies journalists about embargoed reports. In this instance, Miller relayed the material to McHugh in an email from his government address听with the subject line, 鈥淭rump right again: Census data shows Mexican immigration surging - 740,000 in one year! [EMBARGOED].鈥� Miller also put the word 鈥渆mbargoed鈥� in boldface in the body of the email.
Miller, Aug. 12, 2015, 3:13 p.m. ET: 鈥�This is a Center for Immigration Studies report, embargoed听until 1am Thursday night (i.e. tonight at 1am).鈥�
McHugh, Aug. 12, 2015, 3:16 p.m. ET: 鈥淲riting this up for tonight鈥� Will call in a few[.] 鈥�
Later that day, Miller sent McHugh an email with the subject line, 鈥淐amarota cell,鈥� referring to , CIS director of research. Camarota confirmed to Hatewatch that the cell phone number was his.
The series of emails related to the CIS study culminated in an article by McHugh, 鈥溾�澨鼴reitbart published the story the next day, Aug. 13, 2015, and linked to the CIS website.
The 人兽性交 added CIS to its list of hate groups nearly three years ago, responding in part to the group鈥檚 willingness to associate with white nationalist writers. CIS bills itself as a 鈥渘on-partisan, non-profit, research organization鈥� that is 鈥渓ow-immigration, pro-immigrant,鈥� but the听听have听criticized it for using data to portray immigrants unfavorably.
(CIS filed a lawsuit in federal court in January against former 人兽性交 President Richard Cohen and Heidi Beirich, director of the 人兽性交's Intelligence Project, alleging that the hate group designation amounted to a violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. 听that lawsuit in September. CIS has appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit.)
The late John Tanton,听the father of the modern anti-immigrant movement, played a significant role in helping found CIS. In a 1985 grant prospectus, Tanton bemoaned the advances of what he called 鈥減ro-immigration鈥� forces.
鈥淭heir star is now in the ascendency [sic], as they have the manpower, the material, and the money to crank out papers, run seminars, and supply speakers, and so on. In addition, they have the ear of the President. If we do not meet this challenge, we will surely loose [sic],鈥� Tanton wrote then.
In the following years, CIS frequently looked to the far right to help achieve its goals.听A 2017 investigation听by Hatewatch and civil rights group the Center for New Community determined the group sent white nationalist content to readers more than 2,000 times across nearly 10 years as a part of its weekly email blasts. The total included more than 1,700 links from the white nationalist website听VDARE听and at least three links from another white nationalist site,听American Renaissance. VDARE and American Renaissance are also two white nationalist sources Miller recommended to Breitbart in the lead-up to the 2016 election.
CIS also published听听authored or co-authored by Jason Richwine, an anti-immigration author听听from the conservative think tank the Heritage Foundation in 2013 after the discovery of his controversial Harvard University dissertation. In his 2009 dissertation, 鈥�,鈥� Richwine argued that Hispanic people have lower IQs than whites, a finding that immigration advocates dismissed as racist.
Despite the scandal 鈥� which included high-profile coverage of Richwine鈥檚 resignation in听听and听听鈥� Miller still expressed enthusiasm for his writing in emails to McHugh. Miller sent McHugh a link to an article Richwine wrote on the conservative website RealClearPolicy in a July 8, 2015, email with the subject line, 鈥淸S]omali refugees caught in underage prostitution scheme.鈥�
Miller first emailed what appeared to be a link from the website of a Minneapolis-based NBC affiliate. He then emailed McHugh a second time after realizing that听story was not contemporary:
Miller, July 8, 2015, 11:15 a.m. ET:听鈥淸L]ooks like this is from a couple years ago, but good to have on hand[.闭鈥�
McHugh, July 8, 2015, 11:19 a.m. ET:听鈥�Definitely. At some point it would be great to write a big round up of Somali crimes 鈥� after asking local officials the specific benefits their diversity provides us with?鈥�
Miller, July 8, 2015, 11:26 a.m. ET:听鈥�Exactly.听BTW, from Richwine: [闭鈥�
The Richwine article wasn鈥檛 related to Somali refugees but instead purported to show that immigrants from Latin America are unlikely to 鈥渂e just like the Irish and Italians of Ellis Island lore, coming to the U.S. as menial laborers but rising to the middle class within a few generations.鈥�
Miller returned to the subject of Richwine鈥檚 article later that day when he forwarded a press release from the advocacy group听听reporting that 鈥渋mmigrants are听less likely听than the native-born to be serious criminals.鈥�
McHugh, July 8, 2015, 3:28 p.m. ET:听鈥淏efore even opening this up, I鈥檓 guessing they lump El Salvador MS-13 gang members with Canadian neurosurgeons.鈥�
Miller, July 8, 2015, 3:29 p.m. ET:听鈥�Of course. Richwine鈥檚 piece is good.鈥�
As recently as October, Richwine participated in a hosted by CIS in which he and others discussed 鈥渢he cost of granting health care benefits to illegal immigrants.鈥�
On at least eight occasions in his emails to McHugh, Miller also referred to the work of Harvard economist听, a former听, who was听听while writing his dissertation on race and IQ.
For example, Miller sent a link to Borjas鈥� study on the听听of Cubans into Florida to McHugh in a Jan. 11, 2016, email marked with the subject line, 鈥淗arvard Professor Borjas: Mariel Boatlift Crashed Wages.鈥澨齢ave criticized the professor鈥檚 research, which purported to show that migrant workers from poorer countries hurt native populations through the example of Cuban immigration in Florida.
The email is notable because on Aug. 2, 2017, now as an adviser to President Donald Trump, Miller cited Borjas鈥� study in the White House press room as an example of how immigration harms American workers.
鈥淚 think the most recent study I would point to is the study from George Borjas that he just did about the Mariel Boatlift,鈥澨�.
Miller helped coordinate McHugh鈥檚 coverage of Sen. Marco Rubio鈥檚 presidential campaign, sometimes with help from CIS, the emails show.
July 2015 was a busy month for attacking Rubio: Miller mentioned the senator 26 times that month out of more than 150 emails he sent to McHugh 鈥� 17 times from his Hotmail.com address and nine more times from his government-issued address. As a point of comparison, Miller cited another GOP presidential hopeful, Jeb Bush, only three times in the same month. Each time Miller brought up the Cuban-American senator鈥檚 name, the context was critical and related to the subject of immigration, Hatewatch determined. Sessions, Miller鈥檚 boss at the time, was chairman of what was then the听.
Garrett Murch, another aide from Sessions鈥� office, would sometimes join Miller in helping to shape critical coverage of Rubio for Breitbart. Hours after Miller sent McHugh a听听on July 7, 2015, McHugh reached out to its author, Jessica M. Vaughan, director of policy studies for the think tank, for a comment about why 鈥淕OP candidate Marco Rubio hasn鈥檛 publicly retracted his support for Gang of Eight.鈥� The question referred to a bipartisan immigration bill the senator supported in 2013. Murch鈥檚 government email address was cc鈥檇 on the Breitbart email to CIS. Murch replied, 鈥淧erfect,鈥� to McHugh immediately after she sought comment from the study鈥檚 author.
Later that day, Breitbart published McHugh鈥檚 story, 鈥�,鈥� quoting Vaughan.
Miller emailed McHugh to call that article 鈥減henomenal and important鈥� at 6:30 p.m., and it went on to trigger a mini-news cycle. Then-candidate Trump linked to McHugh鈥檚 story听: 鈥淢arco is a politician-he flip flops!鈥�
听on Trump鈥檚 tweet, and the next day, July 8, 2015, a story of hers again portrayed听.
Miller emailed McHugh the same day, encouraging her to continue targeting Rubio over his immigration policies:
Miller, July 8, 2015, 4:24 p.m. ET:听鈥�Really important that you got the Rubio hit in there[.闭鈥�
McHugh, July 8, 2015, 4:32 p.m. ET:听鈥�He needs to be hammered constantly on this.鈥�
Miller, July 8, 2015, 4:33 p.m. ET:听鈥�Yes. Every day.鈥�
In a July report on the White House considering a travel ban against Guatemala, NPR听noted that Vaughan, the CIS director of policy studies, 鈥�.鈥�
"The president is frustrated that Congress and some lower court judges are blocking his efforts to address the border crisis, and his options are limited, so he is willing to push the envelope to get results," Vaughan told NPR.
Earlier this year,听the administration invited CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian听and other conservative leaders to participate in a meeting with Trump to hear his plans to build a wall along the U.S. border with Mexico.
鈥淭he president really has no intention of caving on this,鈥澨�.
Krikorian听听in February that CIS is sometimes in contact with White House staff regarding policy.
鈥淯sually, we get requests about, you know, 鈥業s this a good idea?鈥� or 鈥楧o you have research on XYZ?鈥� That sort of thing,鈥� he said. 鈥淣ot on a daily basis by any means.鈥�
CIS has faced increased scrutiny after the rise of far-right terror attacks apparently motivated by anti-immigration sentiment.
In August, a gunman killed 22 people in a mass shooting at an El Paso Walmart.听Authorities have linked the suspect with an听听denouncing the 鈥淗ispanic invasion of Texas.鈥�
听noted that CIS and allied groups have 鈥減ushed similar arguments about the burden that immigrants place on all Americans.鈥�
Krikorian described the purported terrorist manifesto as 鈥渞emarkably well-written for a 21-year-old loner,鈥� according to the听Post.
鈥淚f you have a guy who is going to be angry about immigration, have a killer offering reasons for shooting up immigrants, how could he not use reasons that have already been articulated by legitimate sources?鈥� Krikorian told the paper.
In the attack鈥檚 aftermath,听听primarily written by immigrant advocacy group the Border Network for Human Rights asked Trump to 鈥渟tay away鈥� from El Paso as news spread he would visit the city.
The letter also requested that Trump 鈥�,鈥� citing Miller as an example.
Raul Hinojosa-Ojeda, a UCLA associate professor who specializes in immigration studies, told Hatewatch the revelations found in Miller鈥檚 emails to Breitbart help bring credence to such accusations.
鈥淚 think what this helps confirm is [Miller] is deeply embedded in a cultural-nationalist, white nationalist worldview,鈥� he said.
Photo illustration by 人兽性交
