Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
DHS defends Oct. 5 deadline for Dreamers
Homeland Security hasn't gotten any complaints that natural disasters are affecting the ability of Dreamers to apply for a quick renewal of their DACA status, the department's acting secretary told Congress on Wednesday. Published September 27, 2017
Top anti-terror chief warns of drones dropping grenades in U.S.
Top federal officials warned Wednesday of the threat of terrorists using drones to conduct attacks in the U.S., saying they fear the possibility of dropping a grenade or spreading a toxin to kill Americans. Published September 27, 2017
Henry Cuellar, Dem lawmaker, says U.S.-Mexico border safer than Washington, D.C.
The nation's capital is a far more dangerous place to live than the southwest border's big cities, a Democratic congressman said Wednesday, saying the crime numbers challenge the notion of a border out of control. Published September 27, 2017
Donald Trump cuts Barack Obama’s refugee policy in half
President Trump, in just eight months in office, has succeeded in upending U.S. refugee policy, cutting by more than half the 110,000-refugee target that the Obama administration had bequeathed him and dramatically shifting the demographics of who is accepted. Published September 26, 2017
Ken Paxton to Texas residents: Rat out sanctuary cities
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton asked residents Tuesday to begin ratting out cities and counties that refuse to comply with the state's newly revived anti-sanctuary law. Published September 26, 2017
Trump border wall construction begins
Homeland Security said it began construction Tuesday on the prototypes for President Trump's new border wall. Published September 26, 2017
Dems say hurricanes should force delay in DACA phaseout
The recent battering of hurricanes has left such a mess that the Trump administration should delay its phaseout of the Obama-era deportation amnesty for Dreamers, or DACA, policy, top Democrats said Monday. Published September 25, 2017
Appeals court revives Texas anti-sanctuary city law
A federal appeals court revived Texas' law against sanctuary cities on Monday, allowing key parts to take effect -- including requiring localities to hold on to illegal immigrants for pickup by deportation officers. Published September 25, 2017
Republicans release slimmed-down Dream Act
Two Republican senators are introducing a slimmed-down version of the Dream Act on Monday, hoping to offer a slightly more conservative option to grant a pathway to citizenship to hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants. Published September 25, 2017
Voter group puts 248 counties on notice over bloated voter rolls
The Public Interest Legal Foundation is warning nearly 250 counties that they could face a lawsuit over bloated voter rolls, after their own analysis released Monday found they have more people registered to vote than could theoretically be eligible. Published September 25, 2017
Donald Trump alters travel ban to include North Korea, Venezeula, Chad
President Trump issued a new travel ban policy Sunday night, adding Chad, North Korea and Venezuela to the list of majority-Muslim countries whose citizens were already prohibited from entering the country under his previous "extreme vetting" executive order. Published September 24, 2017
Alfred Bradley Adkins, psychologist in massive Social Security fraud case, gets 25-year sentence
The psychologist who helped pull off the biggest Social Security fraud in U.S. history was sentenced Friday to 25 years in prison. Published September 22, 2017
Trump admin. claims victory as travel ban set to expire
President Trump is preparing to add more countries to his six-nation travel ban executive order -- though he'll likely impose lesser penalties such as additional traveler screening on them, administration officials said Friday. Published September 22, 2017
ICE, CBP wrongly using taxpayer-funded security, ‘fleet’ of vehicles: Audit
The heads of two federal immigration law enforcement divisions assigned themselves security details and are using "a fleet" of government vehicles to get to and from work despite in violation of the law, an inspector general said in a report released Thursday. Published September 21, 2017
DOJ backs former Sheriff Arpaio, tells judge to erase conviction
The Trump administration renewed its defense of former Sheriff Joe Arpaio on Thursday, telling a federal judge that not only has the lawman been pardoned, but that his original conviction needs to be stripped from the record altogether. Published September 21, 2017
Bernie Sanders calls war on terror ‘a disaster,’ blames Donald Trump for ‘reckless’ policies
Sen. Bernard Sanders called the war on terrorism "a disaster," blasted the U.S. military-industrial complex and stepped up criticism of President Trump, saying he is too belligerent toward Iran and North Korea while not harsh enough on Russia. Published September 21, 2017
DACA denial rate doubles under Donald Trump administration
The Homeland Security Department has doubled the rate of denials of Dreamers' amnesty applications, according to numbers released Wednesday that suggest the administration had been taking a harder line even before President Trump's announcement this month that he would phase out the DACA program altogether. Published September 20, 2017
Philadelphia finds hundreds of illegal voters
Hundreds of non-citizens were registered to vote in Philadelphia over the last decade, and at least 90 of them actually ended up casting ballots that should never have been allowed, City Commissioner Al Schmidt said Wednesday, adding more fuel to complaints of bogus voting in U.S. elections. Published September 20, 2017
Nancy Pelosi: Dreamers’ parents ‘did a great thing’ in sneaking them into U.S.
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi said Wednesday that illegal immigrant parents who brought their children to the U.S. in defiance of the law "did a great thing," giving the country an infusion of successful young people. Published September 20, 2017
Senators working to change internet liability law after Backpage.com case
Senators are laying the groundwork for a major change in internet liability law, saying their hand has been forced by cases like Backpage.com, which saw the web's former top adult-services site accused of knowingly letting underage girls be sold for sex. Published September 19, 2017
