Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Inspector general says DHS allowed unvetted, dangerous Afghans to reach the U.S.
The Homeland Security Department failed to fully vet some of the Afghan evacuees it brought into the U.S. during last year's airlift, the department's inspector general said in a devastating audit, which warned that some people who "posed a risk to national security" were indeed let into the country. Published September 7, 2022
Pollsters still searching for fixes as 2022 voting nears
If ABC and The Washington Post were to be believed in the days before Election Day 2020, then-candidate Joseph R. Biden was about to wipe the floor with President Trump in Wisconsin. The news outlets' Oct. 28 survey, just a week before voting day, showed the Democrat up by a staggering 17 percentage points. Published September 5, 2022
Congressman invites White House spokeswoman to visit the border
Rep. Andy Biggs, Arizona Republican, extended a formal invitation Thursday to President Biden's press secretary to visit the U.S.-Mexico border and get a first-hand look at the chaos local officials say has been unleashed by the new administration's policies. Published September 1, 2022
Chicago mayor says Texas is ‘racist’ for sending migrants to her city
Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot lashed out at Texas after her city became the latest target for Gov. Greg Abbott's migrant busing campaign, calling the move "racist" but saying her city is ready to take the newcomers. Published September 1, 2022
Texas ships first batch of illegal immigrants to Chicago
Chicago is the latest target for Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's campaign to bus illegal immigrants to Democrat-led cities, after the Republican governor announced the first busload arrived Wednesday. Published August 31, 2022
ICE identifies cop-killer suspects as illegal immigrants
Three Mexican brothers identified as part of an investigation into the shocking murder of a North Carolina sheriff's deputy were all in the country illegally -- including one who was caught and released at the border under the Trump administration. Published August 31, 2022
Feds can’t say what happened to Afghan evacuees in U.S. who were security risks, not fully vetted
The Biden administration is still allowing Afghans to reach the U.S. without checking them through a key Defense Department database that could help weed out national security risks, according to senators. Published August 30, 2022
Black voters say NYC’s immigrant voting plan is racially motivated attempt to shift power
Black residents in New York filed a lawsuit Monday arguing that the city's attempt to allow noncitizens to vote in municipal elections is unconstitutional because it was a "racially motivated" move to siphon political power from Black residents to other racial or ethnic minorities. Published August 29, 2022
What tea party? Former IRS official Lerner claimed ignorance in secret testimony about targeting
Lois Lerner claimed to have little knowledge of the tea party movement and what it stood for, even as she oversaw the IRS' intrusive scrutiny of tea party groups' applications for nonprofit status, according to newly released transcripts of a long-secret deposition she gave. Published August 28, 2022
Secret Service recaptures $2.3 billion in bogus pandemic benefits
The Secret Service said Friday it has helped recover and return to the government nearly $2.3 billion in bogus pandemic benefits, including a major new operation that netted nearly $300 million in fraudulent small business loans. Published August 26, 2022
Former DHS chief Chad Wolf says he didn’t erase any Jan. 6 text messages
Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf flatly rejected suggestions that he deleted key text messages from Jan. 6, 2021, and said House Democrats' committee investigating the matter hasn't even reached out to him on the issue. Published August 25, 2022
New bill would punish China for refusing to take back deportees
Fed up with countries refusing to take back their own citizens the U.S. is trying to deport, a Republican congressman on Thursday announced new legislation that could cut off those countries' ability to travel to the U.S. Published August 25, 2022
RIP Biden’s disinformation board: Mayorkas puts the final nail in the coffin
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has put the final kibosh on his disinformation governance board, which never recovered from a botched rollout this spring. Published August 24, 2022
DHS moves to put DACA on firmer legal footing
Homeland Security announced a new regulation Wednesday designed to put the DACA program for illegal immigrant "Dreamers" on firmer legal footing. Published August 24, 2022
DHS board unanimously shoots down Mayorkas’ disinformation board
The Department of Homeland Security's advisory council on Wednesday gave a final, unanimous rejection to Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas' plans to create a disinformation board, but said the department does need to play a role in combatting disinformation. Published August 24, 2022
GOP senator demands IRS audit its own employees to root out tax cheats
As the IRS prepares for a massive expansion that will empower it to probe into more Americans' finances, a Republican senator is asking the agency's inspector general to perform an audit to see how many of its own employees are tax cheats. Published August 24, 2022
Ex-DHS chief Chad Wolf lays out ‘strong case’ for Mayorkas impeachment
Former acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf laid out a case to The Washington Times for impeaching his successor, saying Alejandro Mayorkas violated his duty to carry out the laws Congress wrote by exempting whole categories of illegal immigrants from the threat of enforcement action. Published August 24, 2022
Federal court protects sexual predator from deportation
If prosecutors are to be believed, a Mexican immigrant spent years using his position as a psychologist for Santa Barbara County, California, raping and sodomizing female patients, filmed the assaults, then ensured victims' silence by threatening to send them to jail or a mental hospital. At the very least, Fernando Cordero admits to having sex with his patients and was convicted of trying to silence them. Published August 23, 2022
Tens of thousands of Afghan allies still waiting for U.S. rescue a year after Taliban takeover
A year after the U.S. left him behind in Afghanistan, Will cannot understand what happened. Will, a pseudonym The Washington Times is using to protect his identity, has glowing recommendations from a U.S. Army major who called him "one of my most trusted interpreters." Yet Will is stuck in a bureaucratic battle with the State Department, which told him his file isn't complete and he can't come to the U.S. for now. Published August 22, 2022
26-year-old illegal immigrant pretended to be child to exploit Biden border policy
Border Patrol agents say they're seeing a surge of adult illegal immigrants pretending to be children as they try to take advantage of the Biden administration's more relaxed border policies -- including one 26-year-old man who claimed to be a juvenile. Published August 22, 2022
