Hardline Trump adviser Stephen Miller sees an even tougher travel ban in a possible second term

Stephen Miller, the hardline conservative close to Donald Trump, says the White House is preparing to double down on its immigration policies if the president wins a second term – including an even more restrictive travel ban.

The White House spent much of its first term installing an aggressive policy that places strict limits on who can enter the United States, and was roundly criticised by Democrats, other countries’ governments, and pro-immigration advocates. After court fights, it put in place a travel ban that slapped restrictions on anyone trying to enter the country from several Muslim-majority countries.

On a 5-4 vote that broke along ideological lines, the US Supreme Court in 2018 upheld a several-times revised version of the controversial executive order. Now, with Mr Trump locked in a close re-election fight with former Vice President joe Biden, Mr Miller is sending a clear message: A vote for a second term is a vote for a tougher travel ban.

Now armed with Justice Amy Coney Barrett shifting the high court further to the right with a 6-3 conservative bend, Mr Miller says White House officials are looking at “building on and expanding the framework that we’ve created with the travel ban, in terms of raising the standard for screening and vetting for admission to the United States.”

In what would be another major shift in the country’s legal immigration system, Mr Miller described an envisioned process that scrutinizes the “ideological sympathies or leanings” of all visa applicants.

The goal?

To determine which people might be ripe for recruitment of extremist groups.

What’s more, during a possible second term, Trump administration officials envision “really cracking down aggressively on sanctuary cities.”

Mr Trump has returned to mentioning tougher immigration policies during his rallies as he campigns in battleground state after battleground state.

“A vote for me is a vote for massive, middle-class tax cuts, regulation cuts, fair trade, strong borders, and American energy independence,” he said this week in Bullhead City, Arizona. “A vote for ‘Sleepy’ Joe Biden is a vote for open borders, offshoring jobs, shredding your second amendment, which is totally under siege by the way.”

“You’re so lucky,” he told his loyalists as they cheered, “I’m your president.”

Read more

Election 2020 Today: Biden in Iowa, Trump packs in thousands

State-by-state guide to when polls close on 2020 election night

Biden returns to Iowa; Trump plays defense in Mich., Wis.