Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Gavin Newsom stimulus payments to illegal immigrants upheld by federal judge
A California judge shot down a request Tuesday to halt California Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to make stimulus payments to illegal immigrants to help them out during the coronavirus crisis. Published May 5, 2020
Judicial Watch sues to stop California’s illegal immigrant stimulus program
Judicial Watch announced a lawsuit Tuesday aimed at stopping California's illegal immigrant stimulus program, saying Gov. Gavin Newsom's plan to give out $75 million in taxpayers' money to help those in the country illegally survive the coronavirus crisis is illegal. Published May 5, 2020
Smugglers increase drone delivery of cocaine, meth across U.S. border
Border Patrol agents in Arizona have been inundated with drone drug drops over the last week, reporting three separate incidents -- and managing to capture the drones in two of them. Published May 4, 2020
Gun sales remain strong in April during coronavirus
Gun sales posted their fifth strong month in a row in April, though they fell from the monthly record set in March, according to analysis of FBI background check numbers released Monday. Published May 4, 2020
Chris Smith, other lawmakers target China over coronavirus pandemic
Congress may have been gone for six weeks, but that hasn't stopped the ideas from piling up in Washington -- hundreds of bills from lawmakers with suggestions for how to ease the crisis, stockpile for the future, or to punish China for fueling this one. Published May 3, 2020
Democrats demand stimulus payments for mixed legal-illegal immigrant couples
Top Democrats called Friday for coronavirus stimulus checks to go to illegal immigrants, but said at the very least their spouses or children who are in the country legally should be able to get checks. Published May 1, 2020
Judge orders more soap, clean masks for ICE detainees
A federal judge in Florida ordered ICE to find more soap for detainees at three holding facilities and to give each of them masks, replaced once a week, to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Published May 1, 2020
Reopening economy saves 18 million jobs, costs 230,000 more lives: model
Fully reopening the economy now would cost more than 230,000 more lives -- but would save perhaps 18 million jobs that will be lost if the country remains shut down through June 30, according to new calculations from the Penn Wharton Budget Model. Published May 1, 2020
TSA’s passenger-sniffing dogs are waste of money, audit finds
The dogs that Transportation Security Administration agents use at some airports to screen passengers are cute -- and that's sometimes all they are, an audit of the canine program found. Published April 30, 2020
Think tank urges more deliberate approach to coronavirus reopening
The U.S. needs to triple its testing capacity, put more time between each phase of reopening, and get used to the idea of smartphone apps that track who has contacted whom, a Washington think tank says after studying coronavirus reopening efforts around the world. Published April 30, 2020
Court rules Kansas can’t demand citizenship proof of new voters
A federal appeals court shot down a Kansas policy that required voters who registered under the federal Motor-Voter law to prove they were citizens before being allowed to vote, saying Wednesday that it shut tens of thousands of voters out of the process. Published April 29, 2020
ICE, FBI agents took bribes to provide ‘protection,’ cook books on immigration cases: Feds
A Los Angeles-area lawyer bribed FBI and immigration agents to provide "protection" for him, with one scouring law enforcement databases to warn him of ongoing investigations, while the other cooked the books to help a client and a relative with immigration matters, according to a plea agreement filed in federal court this week. Published April 29, 2020
Donald Trump: Sanctuary cities may miss out on coronavirus money
President Trump suggested Tuesday that sanctuary cities may be excluded from an upcoming bill designed to pump money into states and localities whose budgets are busting because of the coronavirus outbreak. Published April 28, 2020
Pentagon to backfill money diverted to build border wall
The Trump administration notified Congress this week that it will try to refill the money it took from Pentagon accounts to use to build the border wall by cutting European defense assistance. Published April 28, 2020
Rod Blagojevich: Donald Trump saved ‘millions of lives’ with coronavirus response
Rod Blagojevich congratulated President Trump on Tuesday for saving "millions of lives" with his leadership on the coronavirus outbreak, while urging Mr. Trump to keep an eye on officials he says are violating civil rights with heavy-handed social distancing edicts. Published April 28, 2020
Chuck Schumer blasts Trump’s ‘phony immigration ban’
Democrats blasted President Trump's attempt to pause some immigration during the coronavirus crisis, saying Tuesday that the battle against COVID-19 is actually an opportunity to welcome migrants and show more leniency toward undocumented immigrants in particular. Published April 28, 2020
Illegal immigrant ‘Dreamers’ must get coronavirus college aid, Democrats say
Senate Democrats demanded Monday that the Trump administration grant illegal immigrant "Dreamers" in college the same access to federal coronavirus assistance that citizens are entitled to. Published April 27, 2020
Border wall plans reduced as costs exceed $15 billion
President Trump's wall is the most aggressive border construction project in U.S. history -- but it just got 22 miles shorter. Published April 27, 2020
Illegal immigrant with coronavirus from India arrest at border
An illegal immigrant from India, nabbed at the border last week, has tested positive for COVID-19, Homeland Security said Monday. Published April 27, 2020
Coronavirus timeline finds few heroes inside Beltway as impeachment consumed Congress
A Washington Times review of who said and did what and when shows few heroes inside the Beltway in the early weeks of the coronavirus outbreak. Published April 27, 2020