The immigrant story Stephen Miller wants you to forget
Stephen Miller’s family fled antisemitic violence in czarist Russia to find safety and opportunity in America. They peddled fruit on street corners. They worked hard. They sent for loved ones, and they survived. Now Miller wants to slam the door shut on everyone following in their footsteps. The New Republic has just obtained A Precious Legacy, a family history written by Miller’s own grandmother. Her account is a powerful tale of immigration, resilience, and the scope of this country’s possibility, which makes it a devastating rebuke of Miller’s mission to build a meaner, whiter America. Miller isn’t just closing borders. He is trying to overturn decades of American history and progress. By gutting the asylum system, deporting millions (including U.S. citizens), and limiting refugee slots to mostly white South Africans, Miller has run roughshod over the post–World War II consensus that America offers refuge, opportunity, and belongin...