Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
ICE cancels fines on illegal immigrants in sanctuary
The government's deportation agency has canceled the fines of up to $500,000 it had tried to levy on some illegal immigrants who are living in protection in churches, the sanctuary movement said Tuesday. Published October 22, 2019
Elizabeth Warren’s health plan will require middle-class tax hike: Watchdog
Sen. Elizabeth Warren will have to raise taxes on middle-class families to fund her health care plans, a nonpartisan budget watchdog said Tuesday, countering her claims -- but those families could still come out ahead, depending on how the system is restructured. Published October 22, 2019
Los Angeles sanctuary policy releases 100 criminals a day: ICE
As many as 100 criminals a day are being released back onto the street in the Los Angeles area alone under California's sanctuary city law, ICE's top deportation official told Congress on Tuesday as he pleaded for lawmakers to do something. Published October 22, 2019
Democrats’ Supreme Court packing plans rejected; voters say Trump should fill any 2020 vacancy
The public rejects Democrats' plans to pack the Supreme Court with more members but are strikingly eager to impose term limits on the justices, according to a Marquette University Law School Poll released Monday that took a deep dive into Americans' views of the unelected branch of government. Published October 21, 2019
Justice Department proposes collecting DNA samples from detained migrants
The Justice Department announced Monday that it will require the Department of Homeland Security to collect DNA samples from the migrants it arrests, in a move that likely will add hundreds of thousands of names each year to the government's criminal databases. Published October 21, 2019
Immigration, border crime prosecutions top record
The Justice Department has brought more than 100,000 prosecutions for immigration-related border crimes in the past 12 months, setting an all-time record. Published October 20, 2019
Supreme Court to decide whether Obama-era Wall Street cop is legal
The Supreme Court said Friday it will hear a case challenging the constitutionality of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency President Obama and Sen. Elizabeth Warren set up to police Wall Street in the wake of the Great Recession. Published October 18, 2019
Second illegal immigrant tied to ‘merciless’ sanctuary-city murder
Both men accused of a horrific gang-related murder in the Seattle area last week are illegal immigrants, ICE said Thursday, heaping more attention on the region's sanctuary city policies. Published October 18, 2019
DOJ sets record for prosecuting illegal immigrants
The Justice Department set a record over the last year, prosecuting more criminal cases against illegal immigrants and migrant smugglers than any other year on record, officials announced Friday. Published October 18, 2019
Senate can’t stop Donald Trump’s border wall
Senators gave a backhand approval Thursday to President Trump's border emergency wall building plans by failing to override his veto, marking the latest instance when the White House has outmaneuvered Congress. Published October 17, 2019
Chuck Schumer’s bid to rebuke Donald Trump over Syria fails in Senate
Senators fought Thursday over how to try to patch up the mess in Syria, but it quickly became clear that beyond being frustrated with President Trump, there's little unity on what, exactly, the U.S. should do. Published October 17, 2019
Senate rejects attempt to revive Obama climate change policy
Democrats' attempt to reinstate Obama-era global warming controls went down to defeat in the Senate Thursday, with a bipartisan majority rejecting them. Published October 17, 2019
William Barr, in Notre Dame speech, blasts ‘militant secularists’ over assault on religion
Attorney General William P. Barr offered a withering evisceration of anti-religious sentiment, defending the central role of Judeo-Christian moral standards in American democracy, accusing "militant secularists" of an assault on religion that's become as intolerant as religions they criticize. Published October 16, 2019
State Department lifts hold on foreign aid to Central America
The Trump administration cleared the way Wednesday for tens of millions of dollars in foreign assistance money to flow to Central American countries, reversing a blockade put in place last spring. Published October 16, 2019
Mitch McConnell: Congress limited in ability to stop Trump’s Syria pullout
President Trump's troop withdrawal from Syria was "a mistake," the Senate's top Republican said Wednesday -- but he acknowledged there aren't many options for Congress to rope him in. Published October 16, 2019
Trump used anti-Taliban funds to build border wall: Democrats
Congressional Democrats lashed out at President Trump on Wednesday over his border wall plans, saying they've learned he cut $129 million from funds to fight drug trafficking in Afghanistan and is spending it instead on the wall here at home. Published October 16, 2019
Ken Cuccinelli: Birthright citizenship can be changed without amending Constitution
The government's citizenship chief said Wednesday that there's no need to amend the Constitution to stop automatic citizenship being granted to immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, though he said he's not sure whether President Trump could act alone or if it would take a law from Congress. Published October 16, 2019
Congress struggles to counter Donald Trump on Syria
Lawmakers streamed back to Washington Tuesday determined to fight President Trump's troop pullout from Syria -- but they struggled to figure out exactly what they can do about it. Published October 15, 2019
Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer set vote to rebuke Trump on Syria
Democratic leaders on Capitol Hill announced a bipartisan resolution Tuesday to rebuke President Trump for his decision to pull U.S. troops from Syria, and said it's time Republicans join them in spanking the president for reckless decisions. Published October 15, 2019
Trump ‘emoluments’ case to be reheard by full federal appeals court
A federal appeals court agreed Tuesday to rehear a case in which Maryland and the District of Columbia accused President Trump of violating the Constitution by earning income from his hotels while in office. Published October 15, 2019
