Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Artesia mayor: 95 percent of families of illegals being released
Almost all of the illegal immigrant families traveling from Central America to the U.S. are being released from the special facility meant to hold them in New Mexico, according to the mayor of the town where the special facility is located. Published November 18, 2014
Senate Democrats keep own immigration bill from House, urge Obama executive action
Senate Democrats say Republicans could head off President Obama's immigration plans by passing the Senate's own immigration bill — the only problem is the Democrats still haven't sent the measure to the House for a vote. Published November 17, 2014
Obama backs bill to end to NSA snooping
The Obama administration "strongly" backs legislation to halt its NSA snooping program, the White House budget office said in a policy statement Monday, a day ahead of a first showdown Senate vote. Published November 17, 2014
Senate Democrats tell Obama: Grant temporary amnesty to illegal immigrants, bypass Congress
Senate Democratic leaders, in a letter to President Obama on Monday, asked him to circumvent Congress and grant legal status to illegal immigrants on his own, saying he must step in where the House GOP has refused to act. Published November 17, 2014
Obama opens door for Central American children to legally come to U.S.
The Obama administration quietly announced a program late last week to create a legal channel for thousands of Central American children to come to the U.S., a move designed to prevent a repeat of this summer's illegal immigrant surge but which Republicans said amounted to "border sabotage." Published November 16, 2014
Fake disability claims cost taypayers billions
Social Security paid out $2 billion in bogus disability claims approved by 44 administrative law judges over the last seven years, the agency's internal auditor said in a report Friday that details some of the problems with fraud in the troubled disability program. Published November 16, 2014
House approves Keystone pipeline, setting up final Senate showdown
House lawmakers, in their first major vote since last week's elections, easily passed a bill to approve the Keystone XL pipeline that would bring crude oil from Canada to the U.S., sending the bill over to the Senate which will have a major showdown Tuesday. Published November 14, 2014
Mitch McConnell rules out govt. shutdown to block Obama immigration moves
House Speaker John A. Boehner said Thursday that Republicans could use a spending bill to block President Obama's planned executive action to grant work permits to illegal immigrants, but his Senate counterpart ruled out a government shutdown over it, canceling the one major piece of leverage the GOP has in the fight. Published November 13, 2014
Charles Rangel asks court to overturn House censure, blames racism and lack of due process
Rep. Charles Rangel went to a federal appeals court Thursday to try to have his 2010 censure from fellow members of Congress expunged, arguing the committee that investigated him was racist and violated his constitutional rights. Published November 13, 2014
Immigration causes Medicaid enrollment spike, report shows
Nearly half the growth of Medicaid enrollment from 2011 to 2013 was due to immigration, according to a new study being released Thursday that argues the generous U.S. immigration system is straining the federal safety net. Published November 13, 2014
Terrorists smuggled across U.S. southern border before capture in Texas
Four Turkish men with ties to a U.S.-designated terrorist group were nabbed by Border Patrol agents in Texas after paying $8,000 apiece to be smuggled across the porous U.S.-Mexico border. Published November 12, 2014
NSA phone snooping ban set for Senate vote
Senate Democrats took the first steps Wednesday to set a final vote on a bill to halt the National Security Agency's phone snooping, signaling a developing consensus to try to shut down the program before the end of the year. Published November 12, 2014
Republican pressure builds to block Obama’s unilateral immigration order
Dozens of House Republicans have signed onto a new letter that insists the GOP include language in the upcoming spending bill to prevent President Obama from taking unilateral action on immigration, escalating a simmering fight between Congress and the White House. Published November 12, 2014
Harry Reid vows to cooperate when Dems become Senate minority
Sen. Harry Reid said Wednesday he's seen obstruction from Republicans and has no intention of adopting those tactics when he lands in the minority next year. Published November 12, 2014
Illegal immigrants with ‘old’ DUI, ID theft charges spared deportation, lawsuit shows
The Obama administration told federal immigration lawyers to release illegal immigrants with "old" drunken-driving convictions and those found guilty of stealing other people's identities, according to a lawsuit filed by one of the lawyers at the center of the operation. Published November 11, 2014
EPA sued over Gina McCarthy’s deleted text messages
A congressional committee chairman demanded an investigation Monday into whether EPA employees are illegally deleting text messages after the agency officially notified the National Archives last month that Administrator Gina McCarthy expunged her phone texts, which are now the subject of a lawsuit. Published November 10, 2014
Obama to face immigration foe in incoming Judiciary chairman
President Obama and his administration will face a new pair of scrutinizing eyes next year after Sen. Charles E. Grassley, an oversight maven who has investigated everything from the Fast & Furious gun operation to border security, said Monday he will likely become the chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee next year. Published November 10, 2014
Loretta Lynch attorney general confirmation likely to wait for Republican Senate
The Senate's top Republicans said this weekend that confirming President Obama's late-season attorney general nominee, Loretta Lynch, should be put off until next year when Republicans have control of the chamber, setting up the first lame-duck power struggle with a politically damaged president. Published November 9, 2014
Ben Carson leaves Fox News role
Fox News severed ties Friday to Dr. Ben A. Carson, a rising conservative star who is considering running for president in 2016, in what he said was an amicable parting. Published November 7, 2014
Immigration agency nepotism ‘pervasive,’ federal investigators find
Top federal immigration officials repeatedly used their agency as a jobs program for their children, nieces and nephews, pressuring colleagues to hire their relatives in what investigators described in a report this week as a "pervasive culture of nepotism and favoritism." Published November 6, 2014
