Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
ACLU issues Texas ‘travel alert’ ahead of state’s anti-sanctuary law
The ACLU issued a "travel alert" to Americans on Tuesday warning them that they could be entering a low-rights zone if they go to Texas once the state's new anti-sanctuary law takes effect in September. Published May 9, 2017
Donald Trump’s ‘Muslim ban’ campaign remarks in legal question
The administration asked a federal appeals court Monday to look beyond President Trump's campaign statements about Muslims and defer to his judgments as president, hoping to revive his executive order on refugees and travelers from six majority-Muslim countries. Published May 8, 2017
Dump Paris climate deal, black chamber of commerce tell Trump
The National Black Chamber of Commerce is urging President Trump to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement negotiated by President Obama, saying it would "undermine" the American economy. Published May 8, 2017
DHS speeds high-profile deportations; Democrats call changes ‘mean-spirited’
Top Democrats accused Homeland Security of trying to punish illegal immigrants by refusing to halt their deportations even as Congress debates bills to grant them special legal status. Published May 8, 2017
Judges struggle with ‘taint’ from Trump’s Muslim ban comments
Federal appeals court judges questioned President Trump's motives in signing his extreme vetting executive orders in oral argument Monday, wondering whether his own words suggesting he was singling out certain religions for special treatment have poisoned the entire exercise. Published May 8, 2017
Human Rights Watch: Immigrant detainees’ deaths preventable
More than a third of the immigrants who died while being held in U.S. detention were given substandard health care, contributing to their deaths, human rights groups charged in a new report being released Monday that demands major changes in the detention system. Published May 8, 2017
Texas governor signs ban on so-called ‘sanctuary cities’
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Sunday signed a law targeting so-called "sanctuary cities" that allows police to ask about a person's immigration status and threatens sheriffs with jail if they don't cooperate with federal authorities. Published May 7, 2017
Greg Abbott signs Texas anti-‘sanctuary city’ law
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the country's toughest anti-sanctuary city law Sunday, moving not only to fine jurisdictions that refuse to cooperate with federal immigration agents but even threatening jail time for the sheriffs or police chiefs who refuse to cooperate. Published May 7, 2017
Republicans face more ‘shutdown traps’ into Democrat spending
Stung by yet another "shutdown trap" that forced them to accede to nearly every Democratic demand in the $1 trillion spending bill, Republicans are scrambling to find a way out of their predicament before even bigger deadlines come due just months from now. Published May 7, 2017
Talks, incentives swing Republican votes
Rep. Robert J. Wittman was adamant back in March: The Republican health care bill didn't protect Medicare and Medicaid, cut health care costs or empower individuals enough to earn his vote. Published May 4, 2017
Congress approves $1 trillion spending bill; conservatives warn of anti-Trump agenda
Congress gave final approval Thursday to a $1 trillion spending bill to carry the government through September, averting yet another shutdown showdown but leaving a deeply divided GOP in its wake. Published May 4, 2017
DHS catches less than 1 percent of illegal immigrant ‘overstays’: Audit
Homeland Security has built up a backlog of more than 1.2 million illegal immigrants who it believes have overstayed visas but managed to arrest only about 3,400 of them, according to the most recent data, which works out to a rate of about 1 in every 350 lawbreakers. Published May 4, 2017
Illegal border-crossers seek sympathetic agents at U.S. entry points
Some American border officers are turning away migrants with compelling asylum cases, pushing families to bounce from one border crossing to the next looking for a willing officer to let them make their claims for protection, a leading advocacy group charged in a new report Wednesday. Published May 3, 2017
House approves spending bill, rejects Trump budget cuts
Republicans and Democrats have flatly rejected most of President Trump's 2017 budget cuts, instead linking arms Wednesday to vote for a $1 trillion spending package that spreads even more money across the vast federal bureaucracy. Published May 3, 2017
Bill envisions state guest-worker programs to attract foreigners
States would have the power to create their own guest-worker programs to dole out work permits to foreigners under a new bill introduced in the Senate on Wednesday, kick-starting the immigration debate. Published May 3, 2017
Hillary Clinton should be grateful to FBI’s James Comey, Donald Trump tweets
President Trump fired back at Hillary Clinton saying she should be grateful to FBI Director James B. Comey for not being harsher on her. Published May 2, 2017
Julie Kirchner, crackdown supporter, tapped to be watchdog at legal immigration office
The new ombudsman at the government's chief immigration benefits agency is a longtime backer of stricter immigration policies, drawing an overheated response from advocacy groups who accused her of being a "white supremacist." Published May 2, 2017
Mick Mulvaney, Trump budget chief: Spending deal has border wall money after all
The White House insisted Tuesday that the $1 trillion spending bill includes money for 40 miles of border fencing, as President Trump sought to shore up Republican voters by saying the deal also lays the groundwork for rebuilding the military. Published May 2, 2017
Pro-Trump PAC rescinds endorsement, says White House failed on immigration
A political action committee that enthusiastically endorsed then-candidate Donald Trump in the election revoked its backing Tuesday, saying he has "caved" on most of the big promises he made on immigration. Published May 2, 2017
Donald Trump tweets that government shutdown could be good for the country
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that perhaps a future government shutdown would be good for the country. Published May 2, 2017