Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Steel company that smuggled illegal immigrant workers forfeits $6 million to feds
A steel-making company has been ordered to forfeit $6 million after admitting it ran a pipeline for illegal immigrants from Mexico to work for it. Published November 14, 2021
Feds ponder how much to pay illegal immigrants in compensation
As the Biden administration considers cutting $450,000 checks to compensate illegal immigrants who suffered emotional trauma from the Trump administration's zero-tolerance border policy, figuring out exactly the right comparison with previous government payouts -- such as those made to Japanese Americans -- is fraught with complications. Published November 10, 2021
Supreme Court weighs condemned killer’s demand for pastor to touch him during execution
John Henry Ramirez will almost certainly be executed by Texas for having robbed a convenience store worker of $1.25 then stabbing him 29 times, killing him. His lawyer went before the Supreme Court on Tuesday to ask the justices to rule that, when the time comes, he's allowed to have his pastor in the execution chamber. Published November 9, 2021
‘As important now as it was then’: Unknown Soldier hits century mark with tributes, questions
The first Unknown Soldier almost didn't make it back to U.S. soil at all. Published November 9, 2021
New fiscal year begins with lower federal deficit
The new federal fiscal year has begun with some good -- or at least less bad -- news, as Uncle Sam ran a smaller deficit in October than a year ago, according to a new estimate Monday by the Congressional Budget Office. Published November 8, 2021
Taxpayers to cover cost of Afghan evacuees’ immigration applications
Homeland Security announced Monday that it will waive the usual immigration fees for Afghan evacuees who've been paroled into the country since the start of the airlift operation, leaving U.S. taxpayers to pick up the tab for their costs. Published November 8, 2021
Biden DOJ plan to pay illegal immigrants is widely unpopular, poll shows
Two-thirds of American voters disapprove of the Biden administration's plans to pay illegal immigrants $450,000 for "trauma" stemming from having their families separated during the Trump administration's zero tolerance border policy, according to a new poll Monday. Published November 8, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: Border Patrol agent says up to 1.2 million illegal immigrants evaded detection
As many as 1.2 million illegal immigrants may have evaded detection and sneaked into the country over the last year and more will come if they hear about plans to pay $450,000 to some migrants, a top Border Patrol union official said in a new podcast released Friday by Sen. Marsha Blackburn and provided first to The Washington Times. Published November 5, 2021
Democrats block GOP attempt to derail Biden’s $450,000 payments to illegal immigrants
Republicans moved this week to block $450,000 payments to illegal immigrants who were part of family separations during the Trump administration, but they saw their first attempt quashed by Senate Democrats. Published November 4, 2021
EXCLUSIVE: ‘It’s a death trap’: ICE officers file OSHA complaint over illegal immigrant COVID risks
The labor union for ICE officers has filed two workplace safety complaints about the Biden administration's handling of illegal immigrants and COVID-19 at the border, saying federal employees processing and releasing the migrants face conditions that amount to "a death trap." Published November 4, 2021
Thousands of Border Patrol agents at risk of being fired over vaccine mandate, Arizona AG warns
Thousands of Border Patrol agents could be fired over failing to meet President Biden's COVID-19 vaccine mandate for federal employees, Arizona's attorney general warned in a new letter calling on the administration to relax its unprecedented shots-or-else approach. Published November 4, 2021
Democrats draw immigrants’ ire after watering down amnesty provisions in budget bill
House Democrats dropped plans for an expansive amnesty for illegal immigrants in their new budget proposal Wednesday, and instead called for a more tentative legal status for illegal immigrants that would block them from deportation but not offer a clear path to citizenship. Published November 3, 2021
Citizenship path for illegal immigrants to cost taxpayers more than $500 billion
Offering a path to citizenship to illegal immigrants and opening the doors to more legal immigrants will cost the federal government more than $500 billion over the next few decades, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday. Published November 3, 2021
Immigration activists blast Democrats over shrinking immigration plans
Immigration activists lashed out at Democrats on Tuesday for lacking "courage" as chances dimmed for including a pathway to citizenship for immigrants who are in the country illegally in President Biden's social spending bill. Published November 2, 2021
Border deaths soar as 2021 sets record for most migrant fatalities
The Border Patrol counted 557 migrant deaths along the southern border over the past year, shattering the previous record and putting a body count on the ongoing illegal immigrant surge. Published November 1, 2021
10,000 Afghans resettled two months after evacuation as questions mount over vetting
Nearly 10,000 Afghans brought out of their country during the U.S. airlift have been processed, released and resettled into the U.S. over the last two months. Published October 31, 2021
DHS issues memo to cancel ‘Remain in Mexico’ border policy
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a new memo Friday seeking to cancel the Trump-era "Remain in Mexico" border policy that helped solve the previous migrant surge. Published October 29, 2021
Coffin caper: Illegal immigrants smuggled in a flag-draped casket
A smuggler tried to sneak two immigrants past a Border Patrol checkpoint illegally earlier this week by stuffing them into a flag-draped casket and telling agents he was carrying the body of a Navy sailor. Published October 29, 2021
GOP vows to fight Biden plan to pay $450,000 to separated illegal immigrant families
Republicans moved Thursday to block a reported plan by the Biden administration to make $450,000 payments to illegal immigrants who were part of family separations during the Trump administration's zero-tolerance border policy. Published October 28, 2021
Biden’s team sends mixed messages to migrant caravan
Migrants trekking across Mexico as part of the new caravan headed toward the U.S. could be forgiven for confusion over what the Biden administration is telling them. Published October 28, 2021