Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Donald Trump black outreach threatened by coronavirus, George Floyd protests
When President Trump ascended the dais in the House of Representatives in February to address Congress, one might be forgiven for thinking he was delivering the Black State of the Union address. Published June 15, 2020
Supreme Court declines to hear Trump challenge to California sanctuary law
The Supreme Court on Monday declined to hear the administration's challenge to California's main sanctuary city law protecting immigrants who are in the country illegally, dealing a significant blow to President Trump's hopes of forcing jurisdictions to cooperate with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Published June 15, 2020
Nancy Pelosi targets Robert E. Lee statue, monuments to ‘violent bigotry’
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's call to oust from the Capitol collection Robert E. Lee and 10 other statues she says are tainted by the Confederacy is the latest in a long line of attempts to blackball the South's most storied general. Published June 14, 2020
Libertarian nominee says Trump, Biden both tainted on race
Libertarian presidential nominee Jo Jorgensen said Friday that President Trump and likely Democratic opponent Joseph R. Biden are both too tainted to lead the country through this moment in racial tension, and urged voters to look beyond those men to her own candidacy. Published June 12, 2020
Illegal immigration rose nearly 40% amid coronavirus reopenings
America's reopening after the coronavirus crisis brought a surge of human and drug smuggling to the southern border in May along with a worrying rise in the most abusive smuggling tactics. Published June 12, 2020
Xin Wang, Chinese army officer scouting U.S. research facility, nabbed for visa fraud
A Chinese army officer was arrested this week as he prepared to board an airport bound for home with American research, and he admitted he had been asked to study an American lab in order to bring back information on how to replicate it in China, federal authorities said. Published June 11, 2020
Watchdog dings DHS over spending on dirt bikes, cameras instead of illegal immigrants
The Government Accountability Office dinged Homeland Security's border agency Thursday for misspending some of the money Congress approved last year to handle thew surge of illegal immigrant families, saying spending should have gone for medical care or food, not dirt bikes or security cameras. Published June 11, 2020
Trump administration proposes major asylum overhaul
The Trump administration proposed a major rewrite of the asylum system Wednesday curtailing the types of dangers that can qualify for protections and effectively barring those who fear domestic abuse or gang violence from getting asylum. Published June 10, 2020
Federal judge declares ICE courthouse arrests illegal
ICE's policy empowering officers to arrest illegal immigrants at courthouses is illegal, a federal judge in New York ruled Wednesday, delivering a major symbolic blow to the deportation agency. Published June 10, 2020
Black Americans’ anxiety, depression symptoms rise after George Floyd’s death
Two out of every five black Americans experienced symptoms of depression or anxiety in the wake of George Floyd's death, according to new census data released Wednesday. Published June 10, 2020
ICE offers coronavirus testing to detainees at two facilities
ICE announced Wednesday that it has offered coronavirus testing all detainees at two of its holding facilities, as the agency moves to head off more court-ordered releases and improve its knowledge of COVID-19 within the detained migrant population. Published June 10, 2020
Dianne Feinstein: Coronavirus unemployment program ‘riddled with fraud’
Financial institutions have already detected $500 million in bogus coronavirus unemployment benefit claims from overseas fraudsters, officials revealed to Congress on Tuesday, saying the scammers use databases of stolen personal identifying information and file jobless claims in the names of unsuspecting Americans. Published June 9, 2020
CBP nabs ketamine smuggled in pictures of Jesus Christ
God may absolve us of our sins, but Jesus cannot hide them from Customs and Border Protection officers, who announced Tuesday they sniffed out a 9-pound shipment of ketamine someone tried to smuggle into the U.S. inside framed images of the Christ. Published June 9, 2020
Immigration courts chief dinged for faulty budget projections
The Justice Department's inspector dinged the head of the immigration court system Tuesday for sending two warning emails to staff last year about looming budget cuts, saying he got it wrong and didn't "effectively" communicate with his own budget folks. Published June 9, 2020
CBO: Trump team should get ‘a lot of credit’ for fast coronavirus stimulus
Congress' chief scorekeeper had high praise for the Trump administration Tuesday, saying its agencies managed to deliver coronavirus aid "incredibly quickly," helping moderate the worst economic effects of the COVID-19 downturn. Published June 9, 2020
Trump Mexico pressure stopped on asylum seekers at border
The U.S. had just witnessed the worst month on record for illegal immigrant parents and children streaming across the southern border in May 2019, and an irate President Trump took to Twitter demanding Mexico do something about it -- or else face crippling tariffs. Published June 8, 2020
Abolish ICE movement storms back amid defund police push
Anti-ICE protesters assaulted an immigration detention facility in California over the weekend, smashing windows and vandalizing vehicles, reviving the "Abolish ICE" movement that was, in many ways, the precursor to the current "Defund Police" effort. Published June 8, 2020
Coronavirus-fueled deficit nears $2 trillion for 2020
Uncle Sam has added $1.2 trillion to the budget deficit over the last two months, according to the latest numbers Monday that detail how the government has used cash to try to combat the coronavirus pandemic and its economic catastrophe. Published June 8, 2020
Coronavirus hospitalization rates down in Georgia, Florida back early reopening move
Georgia led the way in reopening its economy as Gov. Brian Kemp defied critics, including President Trump, by telling gyms and salons that they could do business again in late April. Published June 7, 2020
ICE blames immigrant-rights lawyers for fomenting coronavirus hunger strike
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Friday blamed outside lawyers for fomenting a hunger strike among dozens of detainees at a California facility, and said they've been told at least one detainee was threatened with violence if he didn't take part. Published June 6, 2020
