Stephen Dinan

Homeland Security at a loss to explain hiring of former PLO official for work on asylum cases

Homeland Security lacked answers Thursday to piercing questions about how a woman who worked for a designated terrorist organization and espoused virulent anti-Israel rules was hired to decide sensitive asylum cases -- and senior former officials urged the department to review every case she handled to correct her bias. Published October 19, 2023

DHS puts on leave a former PLO spokeswoman whom it had hired as asylum officer

Homeland Security's legal immigration agency put an employee on leave Wednesday after being confronted with her past history as an operative for the Palestine Liberation Organization and a more recent series of pro-Hamas social media posts. Published October 18, 2023

IG to investigate federal offices left vacant by telework policies

An inspector general has opened an investigation into telework policies that have turned some government offices into ghost towns, raising big questions about how agencies deliver services. Published October 18, 2023

House GOP threatens universities’ tax-exempt status after failure to decry Hamas

Congress' top lawmaker who oversees tax law on Wednesday suggested that colleges that have let pro-Hamas activities take place on their campuses could lose their tax-exempt status. Published October 18, 2023

IRS will launch free file program in 13 states next year

The IRS is pushing ahead with plans for its own version of a free direct-file option, announcing on Tuesday it will run a 13-state pilot program for next year that will allow a limited number of taxpayers to fill out and submit their tax returns online without having to use a paid service. Published October 17, 2023

Republicans demand DHS block Palestinians from fleeing to U.S.

After watching the fiasco of the Afghan airlift, Republican lawmakers are demanding assurances that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas won't attempt a repeat performance with Palestinians seeking to flee the new war between Israel and Hamas. Published October 17, 2023

DHS offers rent payments, medical care, chance at asylum to separated migrant families

The Biden administration has reached a settlement with migrant parents whose children were separated from them under President Trump's zero-tolerance border policy, promising them housing, medical care, trauma therapy, work permits and legal assistance to help them win a permanent place in the U.S. Published October 16, 2023

Texas governor pushes migrant busing to higher level

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott is stepping on the gas in his busing campaign as howls from sanctuary cities grow, and he has sent another 10,000 migrants to Democratic-led big cities in the past two weeks. Published October 15, 2023

House subpoenas records of potential ‘coverup’ to protect Fauci

The House panel investigating the coronavirus announced Friday it has served a subpoena on the National Institutes of Health to get records that could show a "coverup" intended to protect Dr. Anthony Fauci from scrutiny as he shaped the country's response to the pandemic. Published October 13, 2023

Supreme Court extends reprieve to White House in social media censorship case

The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Biden administration some added breathing room by extending a hold on a lower court ruling that had forbidden the White House and FBI from pressuring social media companies to censor Americans' posts. Published October 13, 2023

Pro-Hamas foreign students should have visas revoked, former immigration chief says

Foreign students studying in the U.S. who join pro-Hamas protests should be deported, a former head of the government's citizenship agency said. Published October 13, 2023

IRS looks to audits, fines, to make up more than $600 billion ‘tax gap’

The gap between what Americans owe the government and what they actually pay is large and growing, the IRS said Thursday, estimating the "tax gap" for 2021 at more than $600 billion. Published October 12, 2023

Social Security announces 3.2% benefit increase as still-high inflation drives up prices

The average Social Security benefit check will increase by $50 a month next year, the government announced Thursday, citing still-high inflation as the reason for the increase. Published October 12, 2023

Forgotten $5 billion: Labor Department sitting on a pile of leftover taxpayer money

The Labor Department's pandemic relief "first week" unemployment benefits program has been shut down for two years, but the department is hoarding nearly $5 billion in allocations. Published October 11, 2023

House GOP probes Biden’s biting dog, says White House should face OSHA inquiry

A senior House Republican demanded Wednesday that the White House comply with workplace safety laws to protect federal employees from President Biden's bite-prone dog, Commander. Published October 11, 2023

Federal deficit hit $1.7 trillion in fiscal year 2023

Uncle Sam ran a deficit of nearly $1.7 trillion in the just-concluded fiscal year, the Congressional Budget Office said Tuesday, pointing to higher spending and lower revenue as the culprits for an increasingly grim fiscal picture. Published October 10, 2023

Feds bust illegal immigrant in gun-buying conspiracy

A high school teacher left his dog in a hot car for an hour and a half while he made illegal straw purchases of guns, which he turned over to an illegal immigrant who then spread them around, including two weapons that were later used in shootings. Published October 10, 2023

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Articles by Stephen Dinan