Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
‘Jesus wept’: Federal judge slaps DHS, orders release of 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos
A federal judge on Saturday ordered the government to release 5-year-old Liam Conejo Ramos and his father, Adrian Conejo Ramos, from ICE custody, saying their detention offended the principles of America enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Published January 31, 2026
Judge won’t order ICE to leave Minnesota
A federal judge ruled against Minnesota's emergency request to end the surge of federal immigration enforcement officers into the state, saying the national government has the right to enforce the law. Published January 31, 2026
Official admits fraud at government’s African aid agency; Trump tried to cut operation
The chief financial officer at the African Development Foundation has confirmed the Trump administration's claims of fraud by agreeing to plead guilty to directing hundreds of thousands of dollars in taxpayer money to a friend who performed little actual work. Published January 30, 2026
ICE arrested 650 in West Virginia in January; state hailed ‘professionalism’ of agents
ICE quietly surged personnel into West Virginia in January, netting 650 illegal immigrants -- all without the violent pushback and chaos that's erupted in places such as Minnesota. Published January 30, 2026
Immigration groups sue to stop new ICE arrest policy
Several immigrant-rights groups sued Friday to try to shut down a new ICE policy that lets officers enter homes to make arrests of deportation targets based on administrative warrants that don't have a regular federal judge's signature. Published January 30, 2026
Trump sues IRS for $10 billion over past leak of tax information
President Trump sued the IRS on Thursday, saying his own tax agency should pay him $10 billion for having allowed his private tax information to be leaked during his first term in office. Published January 30, 2026
Murderers, kidnappers, rapists caught by ICE, but so are refugees
Victor Navarro Govea, a Mexican, crossed into the U.S. illegally in 2009. Last year, he was deemed to be a bona fide candidate for a special victim's visa. He was granted a four-year deportation amnesty by the Department of Homeland Security, which should have lasted through 2029. He was caught by surprise when ICE officers arrested him in Minnesota this month. Published January 29, 2026
Sen. Collins says DHS shutting down immigration enforcement surge in Maine
Homeland Security's immigration enforcement surge into Maine has ended just a week after it began, Sen. Susan Collins announced Thursday. Published January 29, 2026
White House working on ‘drawdown’ plan for ICE in Minnesota
White House border czar Tom Homan said Thursday he is working on a "drawdown" plan to bring some federal agents and officers out of Minnesota, hoping to calm soaring tensions over the massive federal presence and the protests against it. Published January 29, 2026
Judge blocks DHS from arresting, detaining refugees in Minnesota
A federal judge on Wednesday shut down a new Homeland Security policy that arrested and detained refugees as part of a review of their cases, saying the migrants had "followed the rules" and deserved better treatment. Published January 28, 2026
ICE has violated 96 court orders in Minnesota; judge warns of danger to ‘rule of law’
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has defied 96 federal court orders in Minnesota alone spanning 74 different cases this month, the chief judge of the U.S. District Court said Wednesday. Published January 28, 2026
Meth conviction not sufficient to cancel gun rights, appeals court rules
A federal appeals court has overturned a gun possession conviction of a drug user, ruling that a prior felony conviction for having methamphetamine wasn't enough to deny him his gun rights permanently. Published January 28, 2026
DOJ says it will finish review of Epstein files ‘in the near term’
The Justice Department said it has now conducted a page-by-page review of "millions" of pages of documents from its files related to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and said it will finish checking and posting the documents it can "in the near term." Published January 27, 2026
Trump backs Noem amid Democratic calls for her impeachment after federal agents kill 2 Americans
The Trump administration has booted Gregory Bovino as head of the immigration enforcement surge in Minnesota, but Democrats are aiming higher: They want Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem toppled. Published January 27, 2026
Trump’s border wall sees slow start in second term
President Trump, closing out his first term, was erecting his border wall at a rate of more than a mile a day as he rushed to fulfill one of his marquee promises from the 2016 campaign. Construction is moving much more slowly in his second term, however. Published January 27, 2026
Fire or impeachment: Democrats give Trump an ultimatum on DHS Secretary Noem
House Democratic leaders told President Trump Tuesday that if he won't fire Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, they will move to impeach her. Published January 27, 2026
U.S. population growth lags amid ‘historic decline’ in immigration
America's population grew by just half a percent in the Census Bureau's latest one-year estimate, reflecting what the agency called a "historic decline" in immigrants managing to reach and settle in the U.S. Published January 27, 2026
A 24-year-old illegal immigrant posed as a high school student
A federal judge slapped a two-year prison sentence on a 24-year-old Venezuelan illegal immigrant who had been posing as a high school student. Published January 27, 2026
Family of men killed in Caribbean boat strike sue over ‘wrongful deaths’
The families of two men believed to have been killed in one of President Trump's strikes against alleged drug boats in the Caribbean filed a wrongful death lawsuit Tuesday, calling the attacks illegal "murders" that the government must answer for. Published January 27, 2026
Minnesota’s chief federal judge slams ICE for ignoring court orders
The top federal judge in Minnesota blasted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for failing to release dozens of illegal immigrants courts had ordered set free, saying his "patience is at an end." Published January 27, 2026
