Stephen Miller’s Former High School Classmate Challenges His Deportation Policies

Cynthia Santiago, an immigration attorney in Southern California, is working to counter the deportation efforts led by White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, who was once her high school classmate.

Santiago, who won her class presidential race at Santa Monica High School when Miller lost his bid for class speaker over two decades ago, has been defending immigrants’ rights since 2012.

“I was very concerned about where his thoughts were going, his views on immigration and the immigrant communities, his views against diversity in the United States,” Santiago told The Daily Beast.

Miller, widely recognized as the architect of President Trump’s immigration policies, has long held conservative views on immigration. Santiago recalls the day of their high school election when Miller was “booed” off stage after giving a controversial speech questioning why students should pick up trash when “we have plenty of janitors who are paid to do it for us.”

Santiago, the daughter of immigrants, believes Miller lacks perspective on today’s world, saying many of his ideas are “things that he digs from history.”

Now, as a practicing immigration lawyer, Santiago witnesses firsthand the impact of the administration’s deportation strategies. She described to The Daily Beast how the government is increasing deportations by taking pending asylum cases previously marked “favorable” to court and revoking temporary status.

“I saw [ICE] taking people from courtrooms, sticking them in the van,” Santiago said. “The person is basically at an undocumented status with no case pending, and they’re vulnerable to be picked up.”

Meanwhile, the Trump administration continues its push to deport undocumented immigrants in fulfillment of campaign promises.