Lisa Needham writes:

You probably know Stephen Miller as an election denier, a perennial Fox News guest, and, most famously, as the Trump adviser who proposed immigration policies so brutal that his own uncle spoke out against him. These days, Miller also helms a hard-right law firm that is bent on eradicating any and all diversity efforts, everywhere from NASCAR to law schools.

You can think of Miller’s “America First Legal” (AFL) firm as sort of a low-rent version of the longtime conservative law firm Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF). Where ADF knows enough to present a professional facade while trying to eradicate abortion, enshrining into law bigotry against LGBTQ people, and undermining public health efforts in the middle of a pandemic, AFL displays no such restraint.

In a world where Trump hadn’t been the vehicle for conservatives to capture the federal courts, America First’s efforts might be viewed as quixotic or comical, a set of right-wing obsessions going nowhere. But now, Miller has a whole host of judges who share his views, and America First Legal keeps racking up wins. [Continue reading…]