Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Obama chides refugee critics, says U.S. cannot ‘close our hearts’
President Obama chided American critics Monday over their calls for him to cancel his plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees, saying the U.S. cannot "close our hearts" to the plight of those fleeing violence. Published November 16, 2015
Obama still plans to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees despite Paris terrorist attacks
The White House says it won't let its plans to bring Syrian refugees to the U.S. be derailed by Friday's terrorist attack in Paris, with a top official insisting Sunday that American authorities know how to weed out potential problems within the refugee community. Published November 15, 2015
Reports of Syrian bomber in Paris undermine Obama refugee plans
One of the suicide bombers who attacked Paris on Friday held a Syrian passport and had posed as a refugee, according to news reports. Published November 15, 2015
Obama vow to take in 10,000 Syrian refugees under fire after Paris attack
President Obama's plan to accept 10,000 Syrian refugees is under fire after Friday's terrorist attack in Paris, with one GOP presidential candidate saying the U.S. should halt its plans as long as it's not able to assure Americans it can weed out potential terrorists. Published November 14, 2015
Government adds record $339 billion to national debt in first day after budget deal
The federal government has piled up debt since the latest budget deal was signed into law, tacking $462 billion onto the national credit card since Nov. 2 as the Treasury Department replenished its funds and began another round of borrowing to take it all the way into 2017. Published November 12, 2015
Immigration, border policies divide 2016 Republican candidates
Immigration has surged back onto the political battlefield this week after Republicans exposed deep fissures on the issue in their debate Tuesday, and Democrats wasted little time in exploiting those divisions. Published November 11, 2015
Martin O’Malley to eat dinner with illegal immigrants in campaign pitch for votes
Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley will become the first of the 2016 presidential candidates to sit down with illegal immigrants for dinner as part of activists' plan to try to drive the issue and further mainstream people living in the shadows. Published November 11, 2015
Hillary Clinton takes heat for using the phrase ‘illegal immigrants’
Immigration activists demanded an apology from Democratic presidential hopeful Hillary Rodham Clinton Tuesday after she used the phrase "illegal immigrants" during an appearance in New Hampshire. Published November 11, 2015
Obama administration vows to take deportation amnesty fight to Supreme Court — and win
The White House vowed Tuesday to appeal to the Supreme Court this week's court ruling blocking President Obama's deportation amnesty, and Hispanic voters said they'll make Republicans pay at the polls for supporting the lawsuit in which a three-judge panel ruled President Obama broke immigration law in granting tentative status to illegal immigrants. Published November 10, 2015
GOP clashes over minimum wage hike
The Republican presidential hopefuls clashed over the idea of setting a national $15 minimum wage, kicking off Tuesday'sfourth presidential debate with most of them saying hiking the wage would backfire and actually chase lower-income people from the workforce. Published November 10, 2015
Judge: State Dept. ‘lackadaisical’ in processing Hillary Clinton files
A federal judge scolded the State Department Tuesday for being "lackadaisical" in processing the emails turned over by former Secretary Hillary Rodham Clinton as well as messages and notes from other department officials. Published November 10, 2015
Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton cheer Obama appeal of immigration case
Hoping to cash in on Hispanic voters' support, Democratic presidential candidates pushed President Obama Tuesday to speed an appeal of this week's decision blocking his deportation amnesty, saying they're confident he'll prevail at the Supreme Court. Published November 10, 2015
Ben Carson’s son says dad ‘isn’t perfect,’ but lived ‘exemplary’ life
GOP presidential hopeful Ben Carson tapped his son, Ben Carson Jr., to push back against new questions over the candidate's background, with a new fundraising email Tuesday in which the younger man says his dad is "isn't perfect, nor does he claim to be." Published November 10, 2015
Congress passes defense policy bill that keeps Guantanamo open
President Obama's plans to close the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay took another hit Tuesday as Congress passed the annual defense policy bill that keeps in place a ban on shipping any of the terrorist suspects to the U.S. Published November 10, 2015
Judges use Obama’s own words to halt deportation amnesty
A federal appeals court said President Obama's own words claiming powers to "change the law" were part of the reason it struck down his deportation amnesty, in a ruling late Monday that reaffirmed the president must carry out laws and doesn't have blanket powers to waive them. Published November 10, 2015
2016 Republican field largely intact after Alabama, Arkansas filing deadlines
Former Govs. George Pataki and James S. Gilmore III missed the filing deadlines to get on the primary ballots in Alabama and Arkansas, signaling their struggling campaigns may not make it very deep into next year. Published November 9, 2015
Obama plan to shield millions from deportation rejected by appeals court
President Obama's effort to grant up to 5 million illegal immigrants work permits and amnesty from deportation suffered a major blow late Monday when a federal appeals court ruled it was likely illegal, in yet another move by the courts to set limits on this White House's efforts to stretch presidential powers. Published November 9, 2015
Bernie Sanders promises halt to deportations, faster citizenship for illegal immigrants
Democratic presidential candidate Bernard Sanders said Monday he would grant a blanket deportation amnesty to most illegal immigrants and welcome a new surge of illegal immigrants from Central America as he accused Republicans of "racism" for demanding stiffer immigration enforcement. Published November 9, 2015
Federal judge rules against NSA phone-snooping program
A federal judge ruled Monday that the National Security Agency must immediately stop snooping on a lawyer who challenged the spy agency's phone data collection program -- but issued a stay later in the day after the government made an emergency appeal, saying the decision would have forced them to shutter the whole program. Published November 9, 2015
Alaska kills ‘bridge to nowhere’ that helped put end to earmarks
Alaska officials have put the final kibosh on the infamous "bridge to nowhere" -- a $400 million project tucked into the federal transportation plan 10 years ago that became the symbol of Washington pork, spawned massive voter outrage and forever changed the way the government does business. Published November 8, 2015
