Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Maryland’s sanctuary law could prevent Abrego Garcia’s return
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyers are trying to get a federal judge to order his return to Maryland, but that state's sanctuary laws might prevent that from happening. Published July 1, 2025
Trump tariffs have earned $81.5 billion in new money, DHS says
The Department of Homeland Security has collected more than $106 billion in tariff revenue since President Trump took office, and most of that -- $81.5 billion -- is directly tied to the new levies the president has imposed on worldwide goods. Published June 30, 2025
WATCH - Operation Gold Rush: Justice Dept. announces largest health care fraud takedown ever
Russian-led scammers bought out legitimate U.S. medical companies, stole the identities of more than one million Americans and submitted $10.6 billion in bogus claims under their names, federal authorities revealed Monday in announcing what they called the largest medical fraud takedown in American history. Published June 30, 2025
Trump’s Justice Dept. sues Los Angeles over sanctuary city policy
The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Monday seeking to dismantle Los Angeles' sanctuary policies, saying the city specifically rewrote its laws late last year to try to thwart President Trump's mass deportation plans. Published June 30, 2025
Anti-Trump groups seek new legal strategies after Supreme Court limits injunctions
Even as the Supreme Court delivered its earthquake ruling limiting anti-Trump judges' ability to constrain the president with universal injunctions, the justices pointed to a way forward for President Trump's opponents: class-action lawsuits. Published June 29, 2025
Immigration groups try end run around Supreme Court ruling with new ‘birthright’ class action suit
Immigrant rights groups moved quickly to try to stop President Trump's birthright citizenship policy with a class action lawsuit Friday, filed just hours after the Supreme Court dented their previous legal attack. Published June 27, 2025
Supreme Court puts off ruling on racial lines in Louisiana’s congressional map
The Supreme Court said Friday it will wait to rehear cases involving a challenge to Louisiana's congressional map, putting off until the next term a decision on whether lawmakers were too focused on race when they drew the lines. Published June 27, 2025
Abrego Garcia’s lawyers now want him to remain in custody for three more weeks
Lawyers for Kilmar Abrego Garcia are now asking a federal judge to keep him in custody for roughly three more weeks, saying they fear that if the judge does order him released, the Trump administration will try to deport him rather than keep him here to stand trial. Published June 27, 2025
U.S. has arrested more than 2,700 Tren de Aragua members
Federal authorities have now arrested 2,711 members of Tren de Aragua, the notorious Venezuela-based gang, Attorney General Pam Bondi said Friday. Published June 27, 2025
Trump celebrates ‘monumental’ win at Supreme Court
President Trump heaped praise on the Supreme Court Friday, thanking the justices for a "monumental" ruling that limits the power of lower court judges to issue universal blockades on his executive actions. Published June 27, 2025
Appeals court gives Trump OK to slash U.S. Institute of Peace
A federal appeals court on Friday said President Trump was likely on solid legal ground when he fired the board at the U.S. Institute of Peace and sent in his own people to start cutting. Published June 27, 2025
Supreme Court OKs Texas law requiring age verification for adult entertainment sites
The Supreme Court ruled that Texas can require age verification to ensure minors aren't accessing sexually explicit material online, saying the state's law doesn't infringe on adults' constitutional rights. Published June 27, 2025
Supreme Court rules for parents challenging school’s LGBTQ story time
The Supreme Court delivered a constitutional spanking to Montgomery County, Maryland, on Friday, saying its public schools went too far in trying to force pro-LGBT messages on pre-K and elementary-age children without giving their families a chance to opt out if they had religious objections. Published June 27, 2025
Justices back Trump on nationwide injunctions, clear way for limits on birthright citizenship
The Supreme Court delivered a shock wave to anti-Trump judges Friday, saying their use of "universal injunctions" to block the president's agenda nationwide is likely illegal -- and in effect gave President Trump the power to alter birthright citizenship for children born to some illegal immigrants. Published June 27, 2025
Terrorist watchlist encounters soar at southern border after Trump reclassifies cartels
The Department of Homeland Security is suddenly seeing a massive surge in the number of terrorism suspects detected crossing the southern border, averaging more than 280 encounters per month in April and May, according to the latest government data. Published June 26, 2025
Triple-dipping teleworker: Fed employee claimed to be working three jobs at one time
A federal employee pleaded guilty Thursday to fraud, admitting she used teleworking so she could claim to be working full-time for three different government agencies at the same time. Published June 26, 2025
Supreme Court limits timeline for illegal immigrants to file appeals of deportation decisions
The Supreme Court issued Thursday a ruling that narrows the window for illegal immigrants to appeal their looming deportations to federal appeals courts. Published June 26, 2025
WATCH: Supreme Court rules states can cut Medicaid funds from going to Planned Parenthood
The Supreme Court ruled against Planned Parenthood on Thursday, shooting down a lawsuit that challenged South Carolina's law banning state Medicaid patients from using the abortion provider for their health care needs. Published June 26, 2025
Judge orders release of Abrego Garcia — eventually
A federal judge ordered the government to release Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the illegal immigrant at the center of a major deportation and criminal legal battle, from pre-trial detention, though he gave the Justice Department more time to argue over the conditions of release. Published June 25, 2025
Trump’s defense lawyer faces battle to win appeals court seat
Emil Bove, President Trump's former defense lawyer and now a pick to be a federal appeals court judge, vehemently denied Wednesday that he tried to get the Justice Department to ignore judges' orders, as he fended off fierce Democratic opposition to his nomination. Published June 25, 2025
