Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
DHS postpones Real ID compliance to 2023
Citing the coronavirus pandemic, Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it is granting yet another delay in compliance with the Real ID Act's deadline for having secure identification to board an airplane, setting a new target of 2023. Published April 27, 2021
Ed Gonzalez, Texas sheriff who restricted cooperation with ICE, tapped by Biden to lead agency
President Biden will nominate Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez, a Trump critic who cut some cooperative ties with ICE, as the new director of the immigration enforcement agency. Published April 27, 2021
Courthouses now off-limits for arresting illegal immigrants, DHS says
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas nudged the country's courthouses into sanctuaries for illegal immigrants Tuesday, ordering ICE and Border Patrol agents to stop arresting people at the facilities unless national security is at risk or there are overwhelming public safety reasons. Published April 27, 2021
DHS to revoke visas, freeze assets on smugglers
Fed up with watching smugglers drop children from the Border Wall or dumping them in the roiling waters of the Rio Grande, Homeland Security said Tuesday it was kicking off a new operation to identify and slap penalties on them, including revoking visas and freezing assets in U.S. banks. Published April 27, 2021
Red states see gains as census shifts House seats
Political power shifted slightly from blue to red states Monday as the Census Bureau announced how seats in the U.S. House will be divvied up for the next decade, giving Texas two more seats and Florida one seat, while California and New York each lost a seat. Published April 26, 2021
U.S. population at 331,449,281
The official U.S. population in 2020 was 331,449,281, up 7.4% from a decade earlier, the Census Bureau announced Monday. Published April 26, 2021
Migrant surge shows Border Patrol is ‘critically understaffed,’ Jody Hice says
The Border Patrol is "critically understaffed" amid the border surge, sapping agents' morale and punching gaps in the nation's security, the top Republican on a subcommittee that oversees government operations said Monday. Published April 26, 2021
Migrants take to trains to jump border, get around highway checkpoints
Nearly every freight train crossing the border from Mexico into El Paso, Texas, has illegal immigrants on it, marking a major increase in one of the more dangerous methods of jumping the boundary, Customs and Border Protection said Monday. Published April 26, 2021
Biden triples Trump in immigration actions in first 100 days
President Biden has come out of the box swinging when it comes to immigration, averaging about one new immigration executive action a day during his first 100 days, according to a new analysis Monday. Published April 26, 2021
DHS cancels fines for illegal immigrants who refused to leave U.S.
Homeland Security announced Friday it was canceling fines for illegal immigrants who refused to leave, and would grant an amnesty for any fines already imposed by the Trump administration. Published April 23, 2021
Concepcion Malinek convicted for forcing Guatemalan migrants to labor
As tens of thousands of illegal immigrant families stream into the U.S., the case offers a stark warning about what some of them are likely facing now that they are in the country. Published April 22, 2021
Ken Paxton, Texas AG, sues Biden to force COVID-19 rules to apply to illegal immigrants
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued President Biden on Thursday, asking federal courts to make the federal government follow its own COVID rules when it comes to illegal immigrants jumping the border. Published April 22, 2021
Senate GOP embraces voluntary ban on earmarks
As Congress took more steps toward restarting the earmark factory this week, experts said strict limits on the number and types of requests for special spending projects will be critical to preventing the goof-ups of the past. Published April 21, 2021
House GOP to probe Biden associate’s massive no-bid contract to hold illegal immigrant children
House Republicans are questioning the Homeland Security Department's decision to award a hefty no-bid contract to care for illegal immigrant children to Family Endeavors, a company that Republican lawmakers said has never handled a work order this big. Published April 21, 2021
DHS acted legally in sending reinforcements to fight Portland riots: Audit
The Trump administration acted within the law when it deployed Border Patrol agents and other law enforcement to Portland, Oregon, last year to protect the federal courthouse, an inspector general ruled Wednesday -- but he said Homeland Security should have done a better job coordinating their efforts. Published April 21, 2021
Doug Ducey, Arizona governor, sends National Guard to border to deal with migrant surge
Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey announced Tuesday that he was deploying National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in his state to help local authorities deal with chaos spawned by the surge of illegal immigrants rushing into the U.S., and in some cases being released directly into communities. Published April 20, 2021
DHS expands guest-worker visas amid pandemic downturn
Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it will issue up to 22,000 additional guest-worker permits this year for foreigners to work in nonfarm seasonal jobs such as beach resorts and amusement parks. Published April 20, 2021
Democrats to revive earmarks despite past abuses
Democrats, now in control of both chambers, have insisted they've learned the lessons of the past as the practice of earmarks is revived Published April 19, 2021
Kamala Harris says ‘progress’ made on border surge
Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that she's making "progress" on trying to solve the surge of migrants headed north from Central America, but that solutions won't happen "overnight." Published April 19, 2021
GOP leaders ask for border meeting with VP Kamala Harris
Top House Republicans with oversight over the border surge asked Monday to talk over options with Vice President Kamala Harris, suggesting a meeting this month to try to figure out ways to solve what they called an "unprecedented border catastrophe." Published April 19, 2021
