One other thing to keep in mind as asylum seekers, immigration lawyers & advocates reel from yesterday's news abt the Trump Admin's new rules to turn asylum law (as enshrined in US statute & international compacts) on its head: Chad Mizelle, acting general counsel for DHS. 1/
He's often described as being "close" to Stephen Miller. It's more than that, really. He was handpicked by Miller as the Department's *top* lawyer precisely because Mizelle, who is all of 7 years out of law school, will do the White House's bidding. 2/
As bad as things were at DHS & the WH before Mizelle took over, in February 2020, the general counsel's office still needed to square the Admin's fantastical notions with some semblance of legality. Often, it failed because the task was impossible. But there was tension. 3/
Miller hated people in that office, and, as a result, they were not long for this world. Miller considered Mizelle "brilliant." Translation: no independence of mind. And worse: bc Mizelle is so young, he is thinking about his career first and foremost, and will never cross WH. 4/
The Miller-ite agenda is not legal or lawful. It runs afoul of the law at every turn. That's why there have been so many casualties at DHS, going all the way to the top of the department. People--even those with a hard-line bent-- couldn't go the distance demanded by Miller. 5/
The *only* qualification of those who are left is fealty to the White House. Imagine what that looks like for someone who, as the institution sinks into dysfunction, decides to hop aboard. That's Mizelle. The result of his eagerness to please? The policy announced yesterday. end/
