Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
$908 billion: Centrists propose bipartisan breakthrough for coronavirus relief
A core group of centrist Republicans and Democrats announced an agreement on a $908 billion coronavirus relief plan Tuesday, aiming to cut through partisan boundaries that have put an eight-month hold on any new major pandemic legislation. Published December 1, 2020
Christy Smith concedes to Mike Garcia in California House race
Democrat Christy Smith conceded her race Monday to Rep. Mike Garcia, a Republican, bringing to a close the last of California's 53 races and bolstering the GOP's minority in the new year. Published November 30, 2020
Justices take dim view of Trump effort to cut illegal immigrants from census count
The government's lawyer told the Supreme Court on Monday that it may be impossible to subtract illegal immigrants from the 2020 census count, undercutting President Trump's hopes of shifting political power away from the large Democratic-leaning states where illegal immigrants are concentrated. Published November 30, 2020
Supreme Court to hear Trump’s bid to remove illegal immigrants from census
The U.S. Supreme Court may not decide the fate of the presidential election, but it will take up a case Monday that could fashion what the House of Representatives looks like over the next 10 years, when it hears arguments on President Trump's latest attempt to shape the census. Published November 29, 2020
Democrat wins in Georgia create immigrant sanctuaries
Republicans' Georgia election troubles went deep down the ballot last month, including losing two sheriff's jobs that flipped to Democrats, both of whom have promised to end cooperative agreements with ICE. Published November 29, 2020
ICE says double-murder suspect was protected by California sanctuary city
A shocking violent attack at a California church has local leaders demanding a rethink of sanctuary policies Wednesday after the suspect was revealed to be an immigrant with a lengthy criminal record and multiple deportation requests from ICE, all of which were refused. Published November 25, 2020
San Diego border drug raid exposes Sinaloa Cartel operations
Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that they raided a suspected drug trafficking garage in San Diego and netted more than 1,500 pounds of cocaine, 52 pounds of fentanyl, $3.5 million in cash and 20,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition -- the largest haul ever in Southern California. Published November 24, 2020
John James concedes to Gary Peters in Michigan Senate race
Republican Senate candidate John James on Tuesday conceded his race to Democratic Sen. Gary Peters, saying that while he still had questions about the voting, the state certified the results. Published November 24, 2020
Feds paying up to $870,000 an acre for border land for wall
The federal government has paid as much as $870,000 to take ownership of private land along the border in Texas for space to build President Trump's border wall, according to a new watchdog report released this week. Published November 24, 2020
Black Caucus: Renaming Confederate bases must be part of final defense bill
The Congressional Black Caucus said Monday that Congress must impose a three-year deadline on the Defense Department to strip the names of figures from the Confederacy from military property as part of this year's annual defense policy bill. Published November 23, 2020
Joe Biden picks Alejandro Mayorkas, architect of DACA, to lead DHS
Presumed President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Monday he wants Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Homeland Security Department, tapping an Obama-era mainstay who helped create the DACA program that protected "Dreamers," but was also part of the team that expanded family detention. Published November 23, 2020
Extortion, COVID-style: ‘Revenge porn’ surges during pandemic lockdown
New York's attorney general warned Wednesday of a surge in "revenge porn" during the coronavirus pandemic, with people in lockdown turning to online ways to be intimate -- and then having their activities recorded and potentially posted without their consent. Published November 20, 2020
Judge blocks DHS asylum crackdown on lower-level criminals
A federal judge last week blocked President Trump's latest attempt to crack down on asylum-seekers after the administration expanded the number and types of crimes that can bar people from getting protection to include offenses like multiple DUIs and ID fraud. Published November 20, 2020
Democrats propose DHS overhaul to fix ‘cruel’ Trump policies
House Democrats announced new legislation Friday to overhaul Homeland Security in the wake of what they cast as President Trump's abuse of the department. Published November 20, 2020
Andrew Hernandez charged after drone crashed into police helicopter
Federal authorities arrested a man Thursday in what they said is believed to be the first criminal case ever brought against someone for flying a drone in an unsafe manner. Published November 19, 2020
GSA must begin Joe Biden transition, House committee chairs say
The chairs of key House committees warned the head of the General Services Administration on Thursday that she may be breaking the law by not granting presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden access to transition resources. Published November 19, 2020
Friedrich Karl Berger, Nazi guard, loses deportation appeal
A man who served as a guard at a Nazi concentration camp has lost his appeal to stop his deportation, the Justice Department announced Thursday. Published November 19, 2020
Joe Biden DHS ‘landing team’ stocked with amnesty proponents, short on border security
The transition "landing team" presumptive President-elect Joseph R. Biden is deploying to Homeland Security is stocked with veterans of counterterrorism and emergency management -- and it's a who's who of past campaigns for an illegal-immigrant amnesty. Published November 19, 2020
Illegal border crossings are surging as migrants anticipate Biden changes, DHS says
Border Patrol agents are already seeing a Biden surge in illegal immigration at the southwest border, officials said Thursday, with the numbers surging 21% over the last month alone. Published November 19, 2020
ICE arrests 154 illegal immigrants who failed to self-deport
ICE this month rounded up 154 illegal immigrants who'd promised the government they would self-deport within a few months but turned around and defied that promise. Published November 19, 2020
