Donald Trump's right-hand man took what should have been a major victory for the president and turned it into a potentially legacy-destroying embarrassment, a political specialist wrote.
And the move may have earned deputy chief of staff Stephen Miller a place among the worst presidential advisers in the history of America.
The Rolling Stone's deputy editor, Sean Woods, wrote that Miller has implemented policies that have pushed the nation toward crisis, resulting in a tragic loss of life.
And it comes hot on the heels of successes that Trump could have built a lasting reputation on.
Trump won election largely through his promise to take control of immigration and chaotic borders, Woods wrote. And, like it or not, he achieved what he promised.
Illegal immigration has declined, border-related chaos stories have largely disappeared from the headlines.
"It must be said that to a large degree, in this, the president has succeeded," Woods wrote.
But, "instead of declaring victory, Miller went on a blitz."
The deputy chief of staff escalated operations. Working alongside Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and Border Patrol Commander Gregory Bovino, Miller authorized masked enforcement agents to conduct widespread raids.
He has now fundamentally transformed Immigration and Customs Enforcement into an expansive military apparatus deployed nationwide, with masked, badly trained agents trampling on citizens' rights and deploying tactics that have killed, Woods wrote.
And it's hit Trump with massive blowback.
"Now two American citizens, Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti, lie dead, shot and killed by federal agents in entirely avoidable and unnecessary uses of deadly force," Woods wrote.
"Miller disgracefully slandered both the dead Good and Pretti as domestic terrorists out for blood despite evidence to the contrary."
He concluded, "The damage from Miller’s grand designs are plain for all to see. The nation is more divided than ever. Americans’ mistrust and hyper-partisanship has grown only more poisonous. The country feels like a tinder box and Miller and ICE are running around with lit matches."
