President’s admission appears at odds with the elevation of immigration hardliner

• Trump admits deportation policy was ‘too tough’ despite Miller promotion

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Stephen Miller, the influential architect of Donald Trump’s aggressive immigration crackdown, is due to start as White House chief of staff today. His promotion has horrified many, handing even more power to the president’s most controversial aide.

The 41-year-old has been with Trump since the beginning of the US president’s political career - serving as a speechwriter during his 2016 presidential campaign - and has long been seen as a hardliner on the right, serving as the driving force behind first-term Trump policies such as family separation at the US-Mexico border and the travel ban on people from many Muslim-majority countries.

I think it might be too tough, yeah. And a lot of people would say that it’s great. But a lot of people think it’s too tough.

We would work something out. And I think it’s something - I think that’s something that’s actually doable.