Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
DHS deportation beds empty as Obama policies leave illegals on the streets
The administration this year hasn't been able to find enough illegal immigrants to fill the 34,000 detention beds the law requires, as President Obama's new policies kick in and agents spend more time and money going after each immigrant they do detain. Published February 25, 2015
CPAC/Washington Times straw poll tests 17 GOP presidential candidates
Seventeen potential candidates — including current and former governors, senators and political outsiders — are part of the 2015 GOP presidential straw poll at the Conservative Political Action Conference, which opens Wednesday and runs through Saturday just outside Washington. Published February 25, 2015
Republicans to roll out immigration enforcement bills
House Republicans will introduce four new immigration enforcement bills this week and plan to begin pushing them through committee next week as the GOP sets up the outlines of what the post-shutdown showdown immigration fight will be. Published February 25, 2015
Loretta Lynch, attorney general nominee, dodges questions, falls in line with Eric Holder
When it comes to most of the thorny issues she'll be asked to referee on between President Obama and Congress, Loretta Lynch, the woman nominated to be the next attorney general, said she doesn't yet have a sense for how she'll come down. Published February 24, 2015
Obama amnesty contract quietly canceled as White House struggles to comply with ruling
The Homeland Security Department quietly canceled one of its major amnesty contracts after a judge's ruling against the program last week, but officials have struggled to explain how they are complying otherwise even as the administration filed an appeal Monday asking that it be allowed to begin processing applications immediately. Published February 23, 2015
Obama Islamic State war powers beyond congressional control, research service finds
President Obama could still use ground troops in Iraq and Syria to fight the Islamic State and the next president could extend the war beyond the three-year limit no matter what Congress passes, lawmakers' research arm said this week in a legal brief that undercuts many of the key restrictions that Capitol Hill is demanding. Published February 23, 2015
Feds ask appeals court to restart amnesty
The Obama administration on Monday filed both an appeal and a request for an immediate stay of last week’s court ruling halting the president's deportation amnesty, arguing that if it can't grant illegal immigrants work permits and Social Security numbers it cannot enforce other laws properly. Published February 23, 2015
IRS taxpayer information sharing probe stiff-armed by White House
The White House told Congress last week it refused to dig into its computers for emails that could shed light on what kinds of private taxpayer information the IRS shares with President Obama's top aides, assuring Congress that the IRS will address the issue — eventually. Published February 22, 2015
JFK Airport officials filter fecal matter in search for drugs
The federal government is looking for doctors to help monitor suspected smugglers' bowel movements at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York, in a solicitation that sounds like it could be something out of the Discovery Channel's "Dirty Jobs" program. Published February 22, 2015
Justice Dept. to seek stay of ruling on Obama immigration action
The White House said Friday it will seek a stay of the federal judge's ruling this week that halted his new deportation amnesty, elevating the legal battle to an appeals court as millions of immigrants await a decision. Published February 20, 2015
Ted Cruz warns Obama to stop spending on amnesty plans for illegal immigrants
Sen. Ted Cruz warned the administration Wednesday that it needs to stop even planning for an eventual amnesty for illegal immigrants, saying a federal judge's broad injunction means it would be illegal for the Homeland Security Department to spend any money on President Obama's immigration plans. Published February 18, 2015
Steve King bristles at ‘lawless land of Mexico’ criticizing judge’s immigration ruling
Rep. Steve King said Wednesday that a federal judge's ruling has undercut Democrats' filibuster of the homeland security funding bill, and urged his colleagues to stand strong on defunding not only the new deportation amnesty but also the 2012 program that granted tentative legal status to so-called Dreamers. Published February 18, 2015
Mexico condemns judge’s ruling halting Obama amnesty
Mexico condemned a federal judge's decision this week to halt President Obama's deportation amnesty, saying the court ruling denies fair treatment to illegal immigrant Mexicans who have worked supporting the American economy. Published February 18, 2015
Obama, immigrants refuse to be stopped by court decision
Both the White House and illegal immigrants said Tuesday that they would not be swayed by a federal judge's decision in Texas halting President Obama's deportation amnesty as overstepping the bounds of his powers. Published February 18, 2015
Judge Andrew Hanen’s Obama amnesty ruling cites executive overreach, burden on states
Judge Andrew S. Hanen ruled that President Obama's policies have left the border less secure and invited illegal immigrants into the U.S., but the judge said it was the administration's own attempts at slicing and dicing convoluted immigration laws that left him with no choice but to halt the president's deportation amnesty. Published February 17, 2015
John Boehner says judge’s amnesty ruling should end filibuster, clear path for DHS spending
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Tuesday that a judge's ruling halting President Obama's deportation amnesty bolsters the GOP's push on homeland security funding, which has prompted a Democratic filibuster in the Senate and threatens a possible shutdown of the Homeland Security Department later this month. Published February 17, 2015
Judge Andrew S. Hanen halts Obama amnesty
A federal judge late Monday halted President Obama's deportation amnesty, ruling he overstepped his powers in trying to grant legal status and "benefits and privileges" to millions of illegal immigrants, in a stunning decision that chides the president and throws the White House's plans into disarray just a day before applications were to be accepted. Published February 17, 2015
DHS creates path to citizenship for Dreamers: report
The Obama administration quietly told Congress this week that its deportation amnesty programs will, in fact, include a pathway to citizenship, according to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, who said that breaks a promise President Obama made to the country when he announced the program. Published February 13, 2015
Obama amnesty creates loophole for illegal immigrants to register, vote in elections
President Obama's temporary deportation amnesty will make it easier for illegal immigrants to improperly register and vote in elections, state elections officials testified to Congress on Thursday, saying that the driver's licenses and Social Security numbers they will be granted create a major voting loophole. Published February 12, 2015
Senate confirms Ashton Carter as next Defense Department secretary
As Congress begins debate on authorizing a war, senators voted Thursday to install Ashton Carter as secretary of defense, making him the top civilian official overseeing the fight against the Islamic State while trying to grapple with Iran, Russia and other hot spots amid tight Pentagon budgets. Published February 12, 2015
