Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Lindsey Graham, Dick Durbin immigrant deal falls short of Trump demands
The immigration proposal senators presented to President Trump on Thursday fell far short of what the president has said is needed for him to sign a bill, offering only a small downpayment on the border fence and just a small debt in the chain of family migration. Published January 11, 2018
Jane Moe, fourth illegal immigrant teen, demands abortion
Another illegal immigrant teen went to court Thursday to demand the government facilitate her access to an abortion, adding to the pressure on a judge to declare teen girls a legal class deserving of special protections. Published January 11, 2018
Paul Ryan warns return to earmarks could ‘lead to bad government’
House Speaker Paul D. Ryan says he worries his colleagues will sink into the worst days pork-barrel spending if they restore the practice of earmarks. Published January 11, 2018
Gang of Six announces immigration deal, White House says nothing’s done yet
A group of senators announced they'd made a breakthrough on immigration talks Thursday but President Trump and GOP leaders rebuffed them, saying the outlines of their agreement didn't appear to be strong enough to win enough Republican support. Published January 11, 2018
Congressional leaders see path to immigration reform, reject reports of ‘mutiny’
Both Democratic and Republican leaders said Thursday they see the path to a bipartisan deal on illegal immigrant "Dreamers," border security and the first changes to immigration policy in years, as they tried to tamp down on revolts on the right and left. Published January 11, 2018
House defies Donald Trump, votes to renew top foreign intel program
Brushing aside confusing tweets from President Trump, the House voted Thursday to renew the government's most important intelligence collection tool after adding some new protections for Americans whose communications get picked up in the dragnet. Published January 11, 2018
Trump undercuts intelligence community ahead of critical vote
President Trump undercut his own administration's push to renew government snooping Thursday when he said the Obama administration used those intelligence collection powers to monitor his own communications during the campaign. Published January 11, 2018
Judge reaffirms Mick Mulvaney as acting Consumer Protection Bureau head
President Trump had the power to name his own acting head of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, a judge ruled Wednesday, delivering a legal victory to the administration in its battle to control one of the government's most powerful independent agencies. Published January 10, 2018
Supreme Court debates deletion of names off Ohio’s voter rolls
Supreme Court justices battled Wednesday over how to interpret the confusion surrounding a 1993 motor-voter law and what steps states need to take before ousting someone from their voter lists, as a national debate rages over how far states can go to clean up their rolls. Published January 10, 2018
White House warns Congress that limits to FISA could lead to Sept. 11-style attack
The White House issued a stern statement late Wednesday pleading with Congress not to approve strict limits to the government's foreign spy powers, suggesting that adding civil rights checks could lead to another Sept. 11-style attack. Published January 10, 2018
Donald Trump offers scaled-back border wall as Democrats soften resistance
Senate Democrats on Wednesday backed off their red line over President Trump's proposed border wall, saying they saw a deal in sight that could include permission to build more fencing as part of a broad agreement to legalize illegal immigrant "Dreamers." Published January 10, 2018
House GOP offers get-tough approach to DACA debate
Key House Republicans announced a new DACA-fix bill Wednesday that offers some of the strictest enforcement provisions on the table, saying any new legal status for Dreamers must be coupled with a crackdown on sanctuary cities and new workforce checks to stop businesses from hiring illegal immigrants. Published January 10, 2018
Joe Arpaio surges to second in Arizona GOP race: Poll
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's entry into the Arizona Senate race is splitting conservatives, according to the latest polling. Published January 10, 2018
House announces hearings to look at restoring earmarks
The House Rules Committee took the first steps to revive earmark spending in Washington, announcing it will hold two hearings next week to look at Congress's power of the purse. Published January 10, 2018
White House, Dems say judge’s shock ruling won’t derail DACA talks
A federal judge's shock ruling ordering President Trump to reinstate the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty shook the immigration debate Wednesday, erasing the Jan. 19 deadline Democrats had insisted on for action -- though all sides said they still want to get a deal done soon. Published January 10, 2018
Judge blocks Trump’s decision to end DACA dreamer program
A federal judge in California blocked President Trump's planned phaseout of the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty in a ruling late Tuesday that could upend the negotiations on Capitol Hill over "Dreamers" future. Published January 9, 2018
Trump voter commission to destroy state voter data after disbanding
The White House says it never did anything with all the state voter roll data it demanded last year as part of President Trump's voter fraud commission, and told a federal court Tuesday it plans to destroy the data. Published January 9, 2018
Donald Trump, lawmakers closer to immigration deal after televised meeting
President Trump and congressional negotiators agreed Tuesday to narrow the outlines of the immigration deal they're working on to four issues: protection of "Dreamers," enhanced border security, limiting family-based chain migration and curtailing the visa lottery. Published January 9, 2018
Donald Trump endorses return to earmarks
President Trump urged Congress on Tuesday to consider returning to the practice of earmarks, saying pork-barrel spending might be the only way to get Republicans and Democrats to cooperate in Washington. Published January 9, 2018
Illegal immigration up again in December
Illegal immigration at the southwest border ticked up again in December, according to the latest numbers released Tuesday that showed an increasing flow of people showing up at the ports of entry demanding to be admitted. Published January 9, 2018
