Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Trump calls ICE union chief after complaints of betrayal
President Trump has reached out to the country's deportation officers and asked for a meeting after their union president, Chris Crane, wrote a letter expressing disappointment in the slow pace of change at Homeland Security. Published November 22, 2017
Donald Trump’s tweets are liability in court
President Trump's loose lips are becoming more than a political liability -- they are increasingly popping up in federal judges' decisions, providing courts with the ammunition they need to stop the president's agenda, particularly on immigration. Published November 21, 2017
GOP includes money for Trump’s border wall in Senate spending bill
Senate Republicans included $1.6 billion for the first installment of President Trump's border wall in the new homeland security spending bill they released Tuesday, keeping the president's marquee immigration promise on track. Published November 21, 2017
Nearly half of DHS uniforms bought south of the border
The Homeland Security Department buys more uniforms from Mexico and Central America than it does from within the U.S., a top watchdog said Tuesday, ducking the spirit of Made in the USA rules the government has on the books. Published November 21, 2017
Feds have 43 pregnant UAC in custody, as immigration and abortion fights collide
The surge of illegal immigrant children crossing the border also means a surge of pregnant girls in U.S. custody, according to new government figures made public late Monday, highlighting the latest test of Trump administration policies. Published November 21, 2017
Donald Trump’s travel ban was chaos, disastrously implemented, inspector general finds
President Trump's original travel ban was disastrously implemented, the Homeland Security inspector general said in a new memo to Congress on Monday that concluded department employees illegally tried to prevent some people from the affected countries from even getting on planes to reach the U.S., despite court orders to the contrary. Published November 21, 2017
Judge blocks Trump order to cut funding to sanctuary cities
A federal judge in California ruled against President Trump's executive order against sanctuary cities late Monday, saying the White House's proposal to stop all federal grant money flowing to jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with deportation officers is unconstitutional. Published November 20, 2017
Temporary Protected Status for Haitians canceled
The Trump administration said Monday it will cancel special temporary protected status for Haitians, giving nearly 60,000 a deadline of mid-2019 to either find another legal status in the U.S. or risk deportation. Published November 20, 2017
Texas offers $20,000 reward in Border Patrol agent’s slaying
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $20,000 reward Monday for information leading to the arrest and conviction of those responsible for killing one U.S. Border Patrol agent and seriously wounding another over the weekend. Published November 20, 2017
Lois Lerner, Holly Paz want testimony sealed permanently
Former IRS executive Lois G. Lerner told a federal court last week that members of her family, including "young children," face death threats and a real risk of physical harm if her explanation of the tea party targeting scandal becomes public. Published November 19, 2017
House easily passes $1.4 trillion tax cut
With spines stiffened by a presidential pep talk, House Republicans easily approved a $1.4 trillion tax cut Thursday, taking the first big step toward a decades-overdue overhaul that Republicans hope will send the economy soaring and win back wavering voters. Published November 16, 2017
DOJ says New Orleans commits to share information on illegal immigrants
New Orleans will have its police department share information on immigrants with federal deportation authorities, the Justice Department said Thursday after Attorney General Jeff Sessions met with Mayor Mitch Landrieu. Published November 16, 2017
Congressional Hispanic Caucus denies membership to Hispanic Republican
The Congressional Hispanic Caucus on Thursday defended its decision this week to exclude a Republican, saying the caucus isn't about ethnicity but instead about sharing liberal viewpoints. Published November 16, 2017
DHS bungles DACA renewal applications; says some Dreamers have to resubmit
The Trump administration admitted this week that it improperly rejected Dreamers' applications to renew their protections under the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty, in the latest black eye for the embattled program and the agency that oversees it. Published November 16, 2017
Senators strike gun background check deal in wake of church shooting
Key Republicans and Democrats announced a significant gun bill Thursday, striking a deal to push federal agencies to report more domestic violence records to the gun-buying background check system. Published November 16, 2017
Judge awards $1 million to lawyers who won rights for illegal immigrant children
A federal court this week ordered the administration to pay more than $1 million in fees to lawyers who won a major case forcing the federal government to treat illegal immigrant children better while in U.S. care. Published November 16, 2017
Steve Pearce moves to denied Bowe Bergdahl back pay
A Republican congressman moved Wednesday to try to block disgraced former Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl from collecting back pay and retirement benefits tied to the time after he deserted his post in Afghanistan in 2009. Published November 15, 2017
Catch-and-release of illegal immigrant restarted in Texas, border patrol agents say
The Trump administration reinstated a de facto catch-and-release policy for illegal immigrants nabbed crossing the border in Texas, with Border Patrol agents being told Wednesday not to even bother turning them over for speedy deportation because there was no bed space, a top agent said. Published November 15, 2017
Democrats introduce articles of impeachment against Donald Trump
A handful of House Democrats officially introduced Wednesday five articles of impeachment against President Trump, accusing him of everything from breaking the Constitution's emoluments clause to being mean in his tweets about the press. Published November 15, 2017
Richard Cordray, Obama’s Wall Street cop, to leave job by the end of the month
The chief of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said Wednesday he'll step down before the end of this month, marking the departure of yet another Obama-era holdover who'd battled the new administration. Published November 15, 2017