Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Dems demand counterintelligence probe of Trump cellphone, warn of ‘grave danger’ to security
Top Democrats asked Thursday that the intelligence community do a threat review on President Trump's cellphone behavior after reports that he uses unsecured devices to communicate with friends and to post on Twitter. Published June 7, 2018
House GOP struggles for answers on immigration
House Republicans emerged from a critical meeting on immigration Thursday to say they are committed to writing a bill that matches President Trump's four pillars of reform -- but didn't make much headway on settling big issues such as whether illegal immigrants will get full citizenship rights. Published June 7, 2018
U.S. Chamber of Commerce demands amnesty for 1 million migrants
The country's largest business lobby pleaded with Congress this week to grant legal status to a million illegal immigrants, saying the job market is so hot that the country couldn't stomach losing them if they are asked to leave. Published June 7, 2018
30 percent of federal prisoners are immigrants: DOJ/DHS
Immigrants accounted for more than 30 percent of the federal prison population and nearly all of them are confirmed or suspected illegal immigrants, the government said in a new report Tuesday. Published June 7, 2018
Ann Harris Bennett, Houston registrar, battles to keep non-citizens on voter rolls
Houston's registrar says she's under no obligation to remove non-citizens from her voter rolls under the National Voter Registration Act, testing the limits of how far states and localities can go in trying to thwart efforts to clean up their election lists. Published June 6, 2018
Security officials plead for new laws to seize, shoot down drones
Attack drones pose a serious and growing threat to the U.S. and the federal government is not prepared to handle it, Homeland Security and FBI officials told Congress on Wednesday, pleading for new laws that would allow the government to seize or even shoot them down. Published June 6, 2018
Illegal immigrant children on border quadrupled in May
The number of children surging across the border illegally quadrupled in May compared with a year ago at the same time, and the number of people traveling as families is up sixfold, according to Homeland Security statistics released Wednesday. Published June 6, 2018
Senators announce bill to stop Trump tariffs
A bipartisan group of senators struck back against President Trump's new tariffs on U.S. allies, announcing legislation Wednesday that would give Congress a chance to review any new duties before they take effect. Published June 6, 2018
Judge rules federal anti-sanctuary city law unconstitutional
A federal judge upheld Philadelphia's sanctuary city policy in a ruling Wednesday that said the federal law that the Trump administration is using to try to combat sanctuaries is unconstitutional. Published June 6, 2018
Trump blasts Democrats for ‘wasteful spending’
President Trump blamed Democrats on Tuesday for "wasteful spending," taking to Twitter to say they've bloated the number on "needless" items. Published June 5, 2018
Social Security now running a deficit; Medicare to hit insolvency three years earlier than projected
Social Security will spend more than it collects this year, the program's trustees said Tuesday, marking the first time in more than 35 years that it will run an annual deficit as it slides toward insolvency by 2034. Published June 5, 2018
DACA fix will spur new wave of illegal immigration: ICE chief
Passing a "clean" Dream Act to legalize "Dreamers" will spur a new wave of illegal immigration and create a new population that will need an amnesty 10 or 20 years in the future, the government's chief deportation official said Tuesday. Published June 5, 2018
Donald Trump Twitter: Justice Department appeals judge’s ruling that president can’t block users
President Trump will appeal a federal judge's ruling that his Twitter account is a public forum that he cannot block users from accessing, the Justice Department said in a court filing late Monday. Published June 4, 2018
Eric C. Conn, Social Security con man, pleads guilty to jumping bail
The lawyer who orchestrated the largest disability fraud in Social Security history pleaded guilty Monday to retaliating against a whistleblower who exposed the scam, and also for jumping bail last year to try to avoid being sentenced for the fraud. Published June 4, 2018
Bill would give kids chance to erase online profile
Two prominent Democrats announced a new bill Monday to give kids a chance to erase any data internet companies collected on them before they turned 13, saying children deserve a chance to experiment online without having it follow them for their whole lives. Published June 4, 2018
Supreme Court vacates ruling granting abortion rights to illegal immigrants
The Supreme Court on Monday erased a lower appeals court's ruling that had found illegal immigrant teens in federal custody had a constitutional right to abortions facilitated by the U.S. government. Published June 4, 2018
Donald Trump should submit Korea deal to Senate as treaty for ratification: Kevin McCarthy
House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy said Saturday that President Trump should submit any eventual deal with North Korea to the Senate for approval as a treaty, saying lawmakers should have a full say on the matter. Published June 2, 2018
NYC sanctuary policy sends ‘hundreds’ of criminals back onto streets: DHS
Dozens of illegal immigrants shielded by New York City's sanctuary policy this year have already gone on to be arrested for still other crimes including drug and theft, the federal government said Friday, looking to pressure the city to change. Published June 1, 2018
Donald Trump claims broad war powers in new DOJ memo
The Justice Department said President Trump can unilaterally commit the military whenever he claims vital U.S. interests are at stake, releasing a new legal briefing defending his decision to launch military strikes against Syria's chemical weapons capability in April. Published June 1, 2018
Organization of American States ask to force end to Trump’s “zero tolerance” immigration policy
Immigrant-rights groups asked the Organization of American States on Thursday to step in and try to force the Trump administration to end its new "zero tolerance" policy at the border, saying parents who broke the law are being thrown in jail without knowing what's happened to their children. Published May 31, 2018
