Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Illegal immigration spikes in July; still lower than Obama years
Illegal immigration across the southwest border surged 15 percent in July compared to the month before, Homeland Security announced Tuesday, signaling that President Trump's early success in stemming the flow of people jumping the border has begun to lessen. Published August 8, 2017
Mark Walker: GOP can’t allow ‘clean’ debt increase
A leading congressional conservative said Republicans must not approve a "clean" debt increase later this year, saying it would be a betrayal of piled-up promises to voters to finally get a handle on the federal budget. Published August 8, 2017
Donald Trump endorses immigration point system; Democrats back away
Democrats who several years ago voted to end the government's green-card giveaways and to institute a point system for selecting some new immigrants are quickly backing away now that President Trump has embraced the idea. Published August 7, 2017
Social Security judge nets 6 months in federal prison for role in fraud scheme
A former top regional Social Security judge was sentenced Monday to six months in federal prison for his role in trying to silence a whistleblower who helped expose the largest disability fraud scam in U.S. history. Published August 7, 2017
Federal court orders restoration of 23,000 acres for wild horses
A federal appeals court has delivered a victory to wild horse enthusiasts, ordering the U.S. Forest Service to restore 23,000 acres of critical land as protected horse country in California — and showed judges taking an increasingly dim view of agencies' decision-making. Published August 6, 2017
Illegals from border surge cared for by HHS: Audit
After a rough start, federal social workers are now doing a better job of keeping tabs on the illegal immigrant children under their care from the Obama-era border surge, including making efforts to follow up with the children and their sponsors to make sure they're being treated well, according to a government audit released Thursday. Published August 3, 2017
Republicans leave Donald Trump with no major legislative wins
Republicans haven't scored a marquee legislative win for President Trump, but as they prepare to leave Capitol Hill for their summer vacation, they insist they have made serious gains on many nuts-and-bolts bills to reshape the government. Published August 3, 2017
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Obama’s IRS ‘misled’ Obamacare customers: Audit
The Obama administration "misled" Americans into thinking signing up for Obamacare would be cheaper than it really was, according to an inspector general's report Thursday that said the IRS dramatically understated the actual cost of enrolling. Published August 3, 2017
DHS says Canadian border safe; drug trafficking is biggest threat
America's northern border with Canada remains safe, with illegal immigration barely a blip and the biggest terrorism danger being homegrown radical Canadians attempting to enter the U.S. legally, the Homeland Security Department said Thursday. Published August 3, 2017
Emboldened Congress crafts bipartisan bill to protect Mueller probe from Trump meddling
A bipartisan team of senators introduced a bill Thursday to protect the special counsel from meddling by President Trump, as an emboldened Congress takes more swipes at the White House. Published August 3, 2017
Illegal immigrants cost taxpayers nearly $750 billion over lifetime: Report
Deporting the country's estimated 11 million illegal immigrants would cost nearly $125 billion, but allowing them to remain in the U.S. could cost taxpayers far more, according to a new report being released Thursday by a think tank that wants to see stricter immigration limits. Published August 3, 2017
Donald Trump kept at arm’s length on border wall decisions
President Trump gets updates on his proposed border wall but his suggestions won't affect the design and he's being kept in the dark about the prototypes being contemplated, per federal contracting rules, a Homeland Security spokesman said Wednesday. Published August 2, 2017
Donald Trump endorses new immigration bill to cut green card limits, favor English speakers
President Trump threw his support Wednesday behind a Senate bill that would cut legal immigration in half and impose a merit-based system, giving preference to English-speaking immigrants who demonstrate job skills and curtailing the traditional pipeline that rewarded extended family ties. Published August 2, 2017
John Kelly waived laws for Donald Trump’s border wall
The administration said Tuesday that it will have to waive federal law protecting bald and golden eagles as well as dozens of other iconic environmental and American Indian protection statutes in order to begin building President Trump's border wall in San Diego this year. Published August 1, 2017
Immigrants are 22 percent of federal prison population
A stunning 22 percent of the federal prison population is immigrants who have either already been deemed to be in the country illegally or who the government is looking to put in deportation proceedings, the administration said Tuesday. Published August 1, 2017
Judge mocks opponents of Trump voter commission
A federal judge Tuesday shot down the latest attempt to derail President Trump's voter integrity commission, saying there wasn't enough evidence that Americans' rights are being violated by the request for voters' information. Published August 1, 2017
Senators introduce bill to combat online sex trafficking ads
Senators introduce legislation Tuesday that would allow sex trafficking victims to sue websites they blame for helping their traffickers, and would free federal, state and local law enforcement to go after them more freely. Published August 1, 2017
DHS waives environmental laws to begin building Trump border wall
Homeland Security triggered a waiver Tuesday allowing the department to bypass environmental and other land protection laws in order to begin building and testing President Trump's new border wall. Published August 1, 2017
Conservatives urge Donald Trump to revoke Obamacare subsidy for Congress
Top conservatives challenged President Trump on Monday to revoke the special $12,000 Obamacare subsidy members of Congress receive each year courtesy of taxpayers, saying the best way to force lawmakers back to the bargaining table is to force them to fully obey the struggling law. Published July 31, 2017
