In its campaign to energize the Department of Homeland Security and immigration-focused agencies, the White House has run into a wall.
The problem: Few people are in the anti-immigration “career path,” and those who are face an increasing level of personal threats.
“In this day and age, aggressively pushing a pro-border control immigration agenda comes with certain costs for the individual doing that,” said a senior administration official.
Former Immigration and Customs Enforcement acting Director Thomas Homan, for example, faced death threats before leaving for a private industry job.
And top White House immigration adviser Stephen Miller has faced protests at his condo complex and was heckled at a restaurant last year. What’s more, his face was printed on “Wanted” posters placed on lampposts near his downtown Washington condo.
“There is a cost, a personal cost, in today’s hyper-partisan environment with an increasingly vocal hard left on immigration,” said the official.
What’s more, there is a “culture” in immigration offices of helping people get into the country and receive government benefits. Many consider immigrants, not taxpayers, “their clients,” said the official.
As a result, few policy wonks have gone into immigration policy. “In Washington, D.C., in terms of career tracks, it’s not a well-populated career track to sort of go into trying to restrict immigration benefits,” said the official.
But under Trump, that is changing as more who support the president’s agenda turn to congressional and administration jobs.
“People now, they are excited and enthusiastic about going into that,” said the official.
[Related: Trump says GOP ‘can retake the House’ by addressing asylum ‘con job’]
