Washington has secured key international agreements to reroute migrants to other nations, Trump aide Stephen Miller has said

Published 27 Jun, 2026 16:56

FILE PHOTO: Deported migrants protest at the San Ysidro Port of Entry International at the US-Mexico border, Tijuana, Mexico, December 18, 2024. © Getty Images / Carlos Moreno/NurPhoto

The US is no longer accepting new asylum seekers, deputy White House chief of staff and Homeland Security adviser Stephen Miller said on Friday, after the Supreme Court upheld key parts of President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda.

“America’s doors are closed fully to asylum seekers,” Miller told reporters, commenting on the rulings.

The US has secured international agreements to send asylum seekers to other nations, he said. Asylum claims “always” involve migrants from countries where they are not facing persecution, who often pass through states that could have offered them sanctuary, he added.

“In every case, there are either criminals, benefit seekers, economic migrants, welfare seekers, etc.,” the White House aide said.

 

The court handed Trump two major immigration wins on Thursday, allowing his administration to turn away new asylum seekers at the Mexican border and ending temporary legal protections for Haitian and Syrian migrants, potentially opening the door to mass deportations.

 

READ MORE: Trump-backed ‘Alligator Alcatraz’ shuts down

Since returning to office, Trump has moved to tighten border controls, curb illegal immigration, limit birthright citizenship, and require proof of citizenship for federal voter registration, arguing that Democrats have used illegal immigration to “expand their voter base [and] cheat in elections.”

However, on Wednesday, a federal judge blocked Trump’s effort to require documented proof of citizenship for voter registration. The US Constitution “does not grant the President any specific powers over elections,” Obama-appointed District Court Judge Denise Casper said in her decision.

 

READ MORE: US launches global crackdown on ‘birth tourism’

A separate birthright citizenship issue has become a subject of dispute with Moscow. Russia says Washington is forcing US citizenship on children of Russian diplomats born on American soil, regardless of exemptions under US law and diplomatic immunity.

“They suddenly announced that, from now on, all children of consular officers born on US soil are considered American citizens” and would only be able to travel in and out of the country with US documents, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Wednesday, calling the scandal the current “main problem” in relations between Washington and Moscow.

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said last month that the practice could create a tool for unacceptable US pressure on Russian diplomats by means of their children.