Skip to content

Dive Deeper

WATCH: How Operation Epic Fury is reshaping the 2028 Republican race

TRENDING:
Donald Trump
Advertisement

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

Supporters gather during a rally organized by OneAmerica as part of a National Week of Action to demand robust executive measures to stop deportations and keep families together Thursday, Nov. 20, 2014, in Seattle. President Barack Obama is expected to announce his plan to use executive action to partially change the nation's immigration system Thursday night. (AP Photo/seattlepi.com, Jordan Stead) **FILE**

Catholic bishops demand Obama release illegal immigrant families

Catholic and Lutheran bishops on Friday urged the federal government to release illegal immigrant families who have been detained awaiting deportation, saying it is "shameful" for the federal government to keep them in detention. Published March 27, 2015

Sen. John McCain, Arizona Republican, said it was necessary to send a signal to the unaccompanied minors preparing for another run at the U.S.-Mexico border this year that they will be sent back rather than released into the U.S., as all of the children from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador were last year. (Associated Press)

Senate demands faster deportations for illegal immigrant children

The Senate approved non-binding language as part of its budget late Thursday calling for the law to be changed to speed deportations of illegal immigrant children from Central America — but fell just short of the 60 votes that would be needed to force a bill into law later. Published March 26, 2015

"It would provide tools to finally repeal and replace Obamacare itself, leaving the law's higher costs and broken promises where they belong — in the past — in favor of a fresh start, and the opportunity for real health reform," said Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, a Kentucky Republican who said just having the debate was a major change for a Senate that had been calcified in recent years. (associated press)

Senate Republicans defend balanced budget; Democrats see fodder

Republicans defended their balanced budget and Democrats walked away with dozens of votes they think can be used against the GOP in upcoming elections as the Senate passed a blueprint Friday morning to govern spending and provide a path for repealing Obamacare. Published March 26, 2015

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged at Tuesday's hearing that 282 people have had to be kicked out of the amnesty program because of criminal convictions or gang ties that were later discovered. That was out of a population of more than 600,000 who were approved. (Associated Press)

Jeh Johnson: Court should have known part of amnesty was in effect

A federal judge should have known Homeland Security was carrying out at least part of President Obama's new deportation amnesty beginning last year, department Secretary Jeh Johnson told Congress on Thursday as the administration continued to struggle with what's become a thorny legal issue. Published March 26, 2015

Whistleblowers said Alejandro Mayorkas gave special treatment to some Democrats who were advocating for EB-5 investor visas for companies they backed. (Associated Press)

Jeh Johnson, DHS secretary, says Alejandro Mayorkas will keep his job

Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said Thursday that he won't fire his deputy for showing favoritism to high-profile Democrats in key immigration cases, insisting that the problem lay not with Alejandro Mayorkas but rather with a broken visa program. Published March 26, 2015

Immigrants line up after spending the night outside a California Department of Motor Vehicles office to register for drivers licenses in Stanton, Calif., on Jan. 2, 2015. Hundreds of people packed into state offices and waited on hours-long lines Friday as California began issuing driver’s licenses to the nation’s largest population of immigrants in the country illegally. Braving near-freezing temperatures, immigrants donning scarves and gloves and poring over driver’s handbooks arrived at the newly-created Department of Motor Vehicles office in Stanton as early as 2 a.m. hoping to be among the first to obtain the long-sought driving permits. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Latinos say deportation a top concern

More than a third of Hispanics in the U.S. say they personally know someone who's been put through deportation proceedings here, underscoring the personal nature of the immigration debate for one of the fastest-growing voter demographics. Published March 25, 2015

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie apologized for highway lane closures apparently ordered by his aides as political retribution. He fired an aide and campaign adviser. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Chris Christie attacks Obama over deportation amnesty

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who has been difficult to pin down on immigration, finally took a firm stand this week against President Obama’s deportation amnesty, filing court papers arguing the president’s action was illegal. Published March 25, 2015

Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Gina McCarthy confers with an aide as she prepares to address the Natural Resources Committee session during the National Governors Association Winter Meeting in Washington, Sunday, Feb. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen) ** FILE **

Congress subpoenas EPA chief’s cellphone records

Sensing a cover-up, the House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology issued a subpoena Wednesday demanding the EPA chief turn over her cellphone records and emails so investigators can try to figure out if she hid or deleted text messages in what one critic called a "cyberbonfire." Published March 25, 2015

FILE - In this Feb. 2, 2015 file photo, President Barack Obama's budget plan is distributed by the Senate Budget Committee as it arrives on Capitol Hill in Washington. House Democrats Monday unveiled a $3.7 trillion budget plan for next year that mirrors President Barack Obama's call for $1.8 trillion in tax increases on wealthier people and corporations over the coming decade but would add almost $6 trillion to the national debt over that time. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Obama budget defeated 98-1 in Senate vote

President Obama's budget suffered its latest ignominious defeat when the Senate rejected it on a 98-1 vote Tuesday evening, capping off the first votes of the budget season. Published March 24, 2015

President Obama gets ready to toss a football in this photo posted on his Twitter feed moments before the Super Bowl kickoff between the Ravens and 49ers. It was taken in 2010. ** FILE **

Obama lawyers fight to stop ‘Redskins’ trademark

The Washington Redskins' name is commercial speech and isn't the kind of free expression protected by the First Amendment, the Obama administration told a federal court this week in defending a ruling that has stripped the football team of trademark protections. Published March 24, 2015

Hillary Rodham Clinton's email practices are now becoming a legal headache for the Obama administration, which for the first time has admitted to a court that the former secretary of state withheld her emails. (Associated Press)

Obama scrambles to limit Hillary Clinton email scandal damage

Hillary Rodham Clinton's email practices are now becoming a legal headache for the Obama administration, which for the first time has admitted to a court that the former secretary of state withheld her emails. Published March 23, 2015

In this Feb. 12, 2015, file photo, JPS Health Network patient navigator Delaila Hernandez, center, helps Fred Cardenas with documents during a Affordable Care Act enrollment event at the Fort Worth Public Library in Fort Worth, Texas. With more than 1 million Texans enrolled for health insurance through the federal marketplace, Affordable Care Act assisters are turning their focus to educating Latinos and young childless adults ahead of the next enrollment period and getting out the message that hundreds of thousands of Texas children are eligible for Medicaid. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

Hispanics demand more Latinos on Sunday political talk shows

Hispanic groups are accusing the major broadcast networks of discrimination in the Sunday political talk shows, arguing in a letter Monday that the programs don't include enough Latino guests nor give enough attention to Hispanics' issues. Published March 23, 2015

In addition to announcing proactive legal status for 4 million illegal immigrants, President Obama in November also ordered immigration agents not to bother deporting most of the rest of the illegal immigrant population and to focus only on serious criminals. (Associated Press)

Obama dealt series of setbacks on immigration, takes fire from all sides

President Obama's immigration policies suffered a rough week, faltering in the courts, taking fire on Capitol Hill, angering his political base and even having his own deportation chief undercut his message as he struggles to find a middle-ground path to overhaul the nation's immigration system. Published March 22, 2015

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director Sarah Saldana holds a Jan. 29, 2015, news conference in Phoenix on counterfeit ticket and merchandise at the upcoming Super Bowl XLIX. (Associated Press) **FILE**

Obama’s deportation chief retracts call to override sanctuary cities

The administration's deportation chief backtracked Friday, just a day after she pleaded with Congress to pass laws cracking down on so-called "sanctuary" cities and states — a stance that appeared to put her at odds with her boss, President Obama. Published March 20, 2015