Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Criminals free despite extension of border rule, spaces made for migrant surge now empty
Homeland Security released more than 1,100 illegal immigrants with criminal records from its detention facilities in December as it sought to make room for a border surge that never materialized. Published January 25, 2023
States sue to stop new Biden border ‘parole’ policy set to bring in 30,000 more migrants per month
GOP-led states sued Tuesday to try to stop President Biden's "parole" program that would create a new pathway for up to 30,000 migrants to enter the U.S. each month. Published January 24, 2023
Federal worker who ran for Congress as a Democrat gets fired
It took more than five years, but the federal government has finally won the right to fire Keith Arnold, a federal employee who repeatedly ran for Congress in violation of laws against mixing government work with politics. Published January 24, 2023
Federal agent used DHS car to deliver packages for Amazon
A federal agent was slapped with probation after admitting he used his government-issued vehicle to make deliveries for Amazon and to pick up Uber and Lyft passengers, all while on duty with the Department of Homeland Security. Published January 24, 2023
Suspect in killing of 20-year-old autistic woman was newly released illegal immigrant teen
The teen accused of killing a 20-year-old autistic woman in Maryland last summer was an illegal immigrant and member of MS-13 who had been caught then released into the U.S. as part of the government's leniency toward illegal immigrant children, according to a new report. Published January 23, 2023
Woman stole nearly 50 years of VA benefits by pretending to be her dead mother
A federal judge cut a break for a 76-year-old Ohio woman, giving her probation but no jail time after she admitted to stealing nearly 50 years' worth of benefit checks from the Department of Veterans Affairs in the name of her long-dead mother. Published January 23, 2023
DHS sets new record for illegal immigration at border in December
Homeland Security set a new record for chaos at the southern border in December with more than 250,000 encounters with illegal immigrants. Published January 20, 2023
DHS faces blowback over shortchanging Haitian language in new parole program
The Department of Homeland Security's new smartphone app designed to let people sponsor migrants from Haiti comes in English and Spanish -- but not Haitian Creole, the country's most common language, immigrant rights advocates said Friday. Published January 20, 2023
Rep. Comer launches probe of effort to sanitize El Paso before Biden’s border visit
The House's top investigator revealed a probe Friday into the attempt to cleanse El Paso, Texas, before President Biden's first border trip earlier this month, demanding Homeland Security reveal whether it was part of the effort. Published January 20, 2023
Biden’s ‘parole’ program stretches immigration powers
When Emilio Gonzalez ran U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, offering immigrants "parole" into the U.S. was a selective and specialized occasion -- the sort of thing he would talk over with other agency chiefs before personally making an approval. Published January 19, 2023
ICE arrests fake violinist illegal immigrant
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Thursday it will try to deport an illegal immigrant who made tens of thousands of dollars begging for money on Florida streets while posing as a violinist. Published January 19, 2023
Supreme Court can’t identify abortion-opinion leaker
The Supreme Court has come up empty in its search for how a draft opinion on last year's highly charged abortion-rights case leaked to the media weeks before it was issued. Published January 19, 2023
Biden administration announces private sponsorship program for refugees
The Biden administration announced a new effort Thursday to recruit private citizens to sponsor new refugees seeking to come to the U.S. Published January 19, 2023
House Oversight Committee launches probe into border chaos
House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer announced Thursday a broad probe into the chaos at the southern border and said he'll give top Border Patrol agents a chance to explain directly to the public how bad things have gotten. Published January 19, 2023
New York mayor says other jurisdictions should bear burden of Biden’s border migrants
New York Mayor Eric Adams complained Wednesday that big cities are bearing too much of the burden of welcoming the surge of illegal immigrants from the southern border, and he called for the feds to create a new national system to "fairly distribute" the newcomers. Published January 18, 2023
Biden’s army of IRS auditors falls victim to hiring woes, ambiguous marching orders
President Biden's vision for a supercharged IRS is running into the rough realities of hiring problems and difficulties in figuring out who should face more audits. Published January 18, 2023
Heroin smugglers who used potato chip bags get 3-year prison sentence
Two Mexican women who smuggled heroin into the U.S. in bags of potato chips were slapped with three-year prison sentences. Published January 18, 2023
Bad neighborhoods: 1% of counties responsible for 42% of America’s murders
Homicide rates have spiked, but most of America has remained untouched. Only a tiny fraction of U.S. counties account for nearly all of the country's homicides, according to research released Tuesday that showed a striking concentration where killings take place. Published January 17, 2023
Republican majority off to speedy start with House bills, resolutions
While big clashes within the Republican Party and with President Biden have drawn most of the attention, rank-and-file Republicans have used their new majority to create a striking wish list. Published January 16, 2023
Federal government hits debt limit, clock starts ticking on potential default
The federal government will bump up against its borrowing limit this week, the Treasury Department said, putting Congress on notice that it must approve an increase or risk Uncle Sam not being able to cover the bills. Published January 13, 2023
