Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
‘They own the trails’: Video footage from Ariz. border ranch shows steady flow of illegal immigrants
Those gaps in the border wall are personal to Jim Chilton, whose grazing lands cover five miles of the U.S.-Mexico border in Arizona, and who sees exactly what pours through the holes. Published November 28, 2022
ICE employees say agency canceled their union but still collected dues
ICE collected tens of thousands of dollars in union dues from employees even after the agency had helped to kill off the union, according to a new complaint demanding that Uncle Sam pay back the money it took. Published November 28, 2022
Assaults on Border Patrol agents rise as border chaos spreads
October saw 61 Border Patrol agents assaulted along the southern border, in 48 incidents, or more than any month since the start of fiscal year 2020. By contrast, last October had just 28 incidents and October 2020 tallied just 16 assault incidents on agents at the southern border. Published November 27, 2022
U.S. solicitor links schools’ racial preferences to military strength
As the Supreme Court's justices were sparring with each other last month over use of racial preferences in school admissions policies, the Biden administration's top litigator kept coming back to one point: Think of the troops. Published November 27, 2022
How the Biden admin quietly converts illegal immigrants into legal ‘parolees’
This administration isn't the first to rely on parole, but its application of the process is the most wide-ranging. Authorities have flexed their power to bring in Afghan evacuees, Ukrainians who want to avoid the war in their country, and hundreds of thousands of people from myriad countries who show up at the southern border. Published November 27, 2022
GOP won 3 million more votes this year, but not where it counted
Republicans lead Democrats by roughly 3.5 million votes when all 435 House elections are combined, in what analysts called a clear but not overwhelming signal of voters' preference for the GOP. Published November 24, 2022
McCarthy demands resignation of DHS chief Mayorkas, says investigations await if he remains at post
Rep. Kevin McCarthy demanded Tuesday that Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas resign. He said if the secretary is still in office next year, Mr. Mayorkas will face a crush of investigations that could lead to impeachment. Published November 22, 2022
GOP demands prosecution data from Biden administration, says border jumpers should face charges
House Republicans demanded data Monday from the Biden administration on the number of border jumpers who are being prosecuted as illegal immigrants, saying they suspect the administration has been lax in using a key tool to stem illegal immigration. Published November 21, 2022
Court showdown looming on Elizabeth Warren’s Wall Street-policing agency
The Supreme Court has been asked to step into a thorny debate over whether Elizabeth Warren's idea of a Wall Street-policing agency is legal, potentially adding another major case to a docket already packed with affirmative action, voting and LGBTQ issues. Published November 21, 2022
On the house: Biden’s new border ‘magic trick’ gives migrants free entry to U.S.
Maria Esperanza Diaz Ruiz had expected to pay a smuggler to get across the U.S.-Mexico border. Then she learned the Biden administration's new program would let her walk in for free, as long as she had a tale of woe from back home. Published November 21, 2022
Behind the theft: Rapper who stole COVID unemployment money pleads for leniency
To hear Nuke Bizzle's version of events, he never really had much choice but to grab as much pandemic cash as he could steal. Published November 20, 2022
Hidden COVID crisis: Violent juvenile crime exploded amid school shutdowns
"We are seeing, and I hear this from chiefs and sheriffs all the time, as well as our own agents, an alarming uptick in the incidence of juveniles engaging in violence, often graduating from carjackings to even worse violence," FBI Director Christopher Wray said. Published November 20, 2022
House GOP sharpens knives for probes, tells senior Biden officials to get ready to testify
House Republicans are beginning to lay out an expansive agenda of hearings and probes into the Biden administration, with GOP members of the Judiciary Committee informing the White House that it will seek the testimony of senior White House, Homeland Security and FBI officials. Published November 18, 2022
Fugitive perps in brazen $20 million COVID fraud extradited from Montenegro to L.A.
A husband and wife who led one of the most brazen pandemic fraud rings revealed to date were extradited from Montenegro late Thursday and will face a federal judge in Los Angeles on Friday. Published November 18, 2022
Border Patrol agent ran trucking business with illegal immigrants, feds say
A Border Patrol agent charged with enforcing immigration laws was secretly flouting those laws, prosecutors said Thursday as they unsealed a criminal case accusing the agent of hiring illegal immigrants to work as truck drivers for a business he ran. Published November 17, 2022
Democrats and Republicans say DHS isn’t prepared for the looming migrant surge
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Thursday that he has a "plan" to deal with what's expected to be an even worse border situation once he carries out a judge's order to no longer use pandemic powers to oust illegal immigrants. Published November 17, 2022
FBI Director Wray blames COVID school shutdowns for fueling juvenile crime spree across the U.S.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray said Thursday that children who were shut out of schools during the pandemic and who have yet to go back to the classroom are factors in America's "violent crime crisis." Published November 17, 2022
FBI director left congressional hearing to go on vacation
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray acknowledged Thursday that he left a congressional hearing over the summer in order to go on a personal vacation in the Adirondacks. Published November 17, 2022
FBI says illegal weaponized drones are ‘here now’ in U.S.
FBI Director Christopher A. Wray revealed Thursday that his agents are investigating several instances where someone in the U.S. weaponized a drone by adding an improvised explosive device. Published November 17, 2022
Treasury Dept. slaps sanctions on drug cartel spreading rainbow fentanyl
The Treasury Department announced sanctions Thursday on La Nueva Familia Michoacana, a Mexican drug trafficking organization that authorities blame for the rise of "rainbow fentanyl," the latest iteration of the dangerous synthetic opioid. Published November 17, 2022
