Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Obama amnesty faces lawsuit as 17 states argue immigration order violates Constitution
Seventeen states and governors sued the Department of Homeland Security on Wednesday in a bid to halt President Obama's new deportation amnesty, saying he violated the Constitution and broke federal laws by granting tentative legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. Published December 3, 2014
DHS already hiring 1,000 employees to carry out Obama amnesty
Department of Homeland Security officials wasted little time in ramping up for President Obama's amnesty, posting 1,000 job openings the day after his announcement and announcing it already has space for hundreds of employees at a new location in Arlington, Virginia — an indication that it had laid its plans well before Mr. Obama's announcement. Published December 3, 2014
Texas, 16 other states sue to stop Obama amnesty
Seventeen states and governors sued the Homeland Security Department on Wednesday in a bid to halt President Obama's new deportation amnesty, saying he violated the Constitution and broke federal laws by granting tentative legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. Published December 3, 2014
Duncan Hunter: DHS should have had ‘national security interest’ in keeping terrorists in custody
A key lawmaker questioned whether Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson did enough to stop the release of two self-admitted terrorists into the U.S., sending a letter Wednesday saying there was a "compelling national security interest" to keeping the two men bottled up. Published December 3, 2014
Ted Cruz: No money for amnesty
Sen. Ted Cruz said Wednesday that Congress should insist on a spending bill that cancels President Obama's new illegal immigrant amnesty and should pass only a short-term funding bill to carry the government over into the new year. Published December 3, 2014
Penis pump Medicare coverage ban would save taxpayers $44 million a year
Congress is putting the final kibosh on the penis pump, with the House slated to begin debating a bill Wednesday that would stop Medicare from paying for the erectile dysfunction treatment, saving an average of $44 million a year. Published December 2, 2014
Obama immigration flip-flops prove problematic for Jeh Johnson
President Obama's own words continue to be a major problem for his defenders, including Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson, the administration's top immigration lawyer, who spent much of his Capitol Hill testimony Tuesday parsing or disagreeing with his boss's flip-flops. Published December 2, 2014
Obama amnesty response divides House Republicans as debate rages over strategy
House Republicans vowed Tuesday to confront President Obama's temporary amnesty for illegal immigrants, but they continued to wrestle with how to do it, as conservatives balked at the GOP leadership's plan to put off the fight until March. Published December 2, 2014
Two Turkish terrorists released into U.S. by Homeland Security Department
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged Tuesday that his department had to release two men who admitted they were part of a terrorist group from Turkey, after a judge ordered them to be let out — a decision he said he disagreed with. Published December 2, 2014
GOP vows to fight Obama’s amnesty early next year
House Republicans emerged from a closed-door meeting Tuesday to say they are leaning toward funding the government now, but setting up a fight early next year over President Obama's temporary amnesty. Published December 2, 2014
DHS says it still can’t measure border security
Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson acknowledged Tuesday that his department still doesn't have a firm yardstick for determining whether the border is secure, sparking concern from Republicans who said that's a fatal flaw as the administration pushes ahead with its temporary amnesty for illegal immigrants. Published December 2, 2014
Obama would veto effort to block immigration action: White House
The White House said Monday that President Obama would veto any bill that aims to defund his executive action granting legal status to millions of illegal immigrants. Published December 1, 2014
Obama amnesty could be thwarted by Congress budget action, legal advisers say
Congress could use its power of the purse to halt President Obama's executive action on immigration despite the president's use of a fee-based agency to do most of the key work, the Capitol's legal research team has concluded. Published November 30, 2014
IRS paying millions in bonuses to employees who are tax scofflaws
IRS employees who made "unintentional" mistakes on their taxes are still eligible to get bonuses this fiscal year, the agency confirmed this week. Published November 26, 2014
IRS inspector general to release files on privacy probe
The IRS inspector general has amassed 2,500 documents detailing its own investigations into whether the tax agency gave the White House private taxpayer information, and the Obama administration agreed this week to release the documents in what an advocacy group called a major win for transparency. Published November 25, 2014
Obama amnesty, Obamacare clash: Businesses have $3,000 incentive to hire illegals
Under the president's new amnesty, businesses will have a $3,000-per-employee incentive to hire illegal immigrants over native-born workers because of a quirk of Obamacare. Published November 25, 2014
Obama tells immigration hecklers he’s met their demands
President Obama on Tuesday told hecklers it no longer makes sense to criticize him for deportations, saying that his executive action last week to grant temporary amnesty to millions of illegal immigrants. Published November 25, 2014
Most immigrant kids lack lawyers, but those who have them get to stay: Study
Having a lawyer is the key to illegal immigrant children being able to stay in the U.S. — but fewer of them are appearing in court with lawyers, thanks to the recent surge of unaccompanied minors that has overwhelmed the system, according to new numbers released Tuesday by the Transactional Records Clearing House. Published November 25, 2014
Prisoners get millions in bogus tax refunds
Prisoners continue to claim bogus tax refunds, to a tune of more than $1 billion in 2012, and the IRS has yet to take enough steps to combat it, the agency's inspector general reported Tuesday. Published November 25, 2014
Obama’s amnesty gets 90 percent approval from Hispanics
President Obama's move to grant nearly 5 million illegal immigrants amnesty from deportation has united Hispanic voters in an unprecedented fashion, leaving them firmly behind the White House and Democrats and adamant about opposing Republicans' plans to rescind the new policy, a leading pollster said Monday. Published November 24, 2014
