Stephen Dinan
Articles by Stephen Dinan
Hispanic’s arrest reignites debate over Arizona ‘show your papers’ immigration law
The Arizona ACLU said Tuesday that police in that state have used racial profiling to target Hispanics under that state's strict immigration laws, filing a legal complaint against the city of South Tucson and opening up another legal battle against the state's "show your papers" law. Published November 12, 2013
Feds stiff Arizona border town for ambulance costs for immigrants
Many communities across the U.S. have problems getting reimbursed for sending ambulances to pick up patients, but for one community along the U.S.-Mexico border, the delinquent party is the federal government, which the city of Nogales says owes it hundreds of thousands of dollars for picking up immigrants. Published November 10, 2013
Obamacare an effective GOP weapon in Ken Cuccinelli’s campaign
Democrats spent heavily to win Virginia's governorship, but Republicans said Wednesday that the closer-than-expected loss by state Attorney General Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II provided a clear demonstration of how they can exploit the unpopularity of Obamacare next year to win the congressional midterm elections. Published November 6, 2013
Virginia election shows Obamacare can be used as political weapon
Democrats spent heavily to win the Virginia governorship Tuesday, but Republicans said by making the race far closer than polls had projected just a few weeks ago, Kenneth T. Cuccinelli's campaign showed how much of a weapon Obamacare can be in the hands of the GOP. Published November 6, 2013
Feds feel shirked for shutdown work, sue for double pay
Some federal workers who were required to remain on the job during the government shutdown said Monday that they have filed a lawsuit demanding double pay, arguing that the government's failure to pay them on time is a violation of labor laws. Published November 4, 2013
Lindsey Graham will lead charge in Senate for abortion ban after 20 weeks
After months of waiting and speculation about who would take the lead, Sen. Lindsey Graham — not Sen. Marco Rubio — will be the chief sponsor of a bill designed to ban abortions nationwide after 20 weeks, or the point at which some scientific evidence says fetuses may feel pain. Published November 3, 2013
Senate intel committee approves NSA snooping, with restrictions
The Senate intelligence committee voted Thursday to officially affirm the NSA's ability to collect records of Americans' telephone calls, but imposes new restrictions on federal authorities who want to sift through the data. Published October 31, 2013
Senate GOP blocks key Obama judge, signals renewed fight over court nominees
Senate Republicans on Thursday filibustered one of President Obama's nominees to sit on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, arguing that although the woman is well-qualified, confirmation would allow Democrats to shift the political balance to the left on the country's second most important court. Published October 31, 2013
Medicare paid millions to dead patients, illegal immigrants, probe finds
Medicare paid $23 million for dead patients in 2011 and $29 million for drug benefits for illegal immigrants from 2009 to 2011, according to a report Thursday from the Health and Human Services inspector general. Published October 31, 2013
Top GOP leader rejects immigration conference with Senate
The chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee said Wednesday that the chamber's Republicans will not go to a conference committee to work out a broad immigration bill with the Senate. Published October 30, 2013
Third Republican joins Democrats’ immigration bill
Three Republicans have signed up for House Democrats' immigration bill as of Wednesday afternoon, marking a steady increase in support and adding to pressure on GOP leaders to take some action before the end of the year. Published October 30, 2013
Federal deficit dips below $1 trillion for first time in Obama’s tenure
Powered by tax increases and deep budget cuts that held spending in check, the federal deficit dropped to $680 billion in fiscal year 2013, according to a Treasury Department report Wednesday that marks the first subtrillion-dollar deficit since President Obama took office. Published October 30, 2013
No more Obama nominees until White House relents on Benghazi: Graham
Sen. Lindsey Graham said Wednesday he will "hold" every future Obama nominee, creating a hurdle for them to reach the Senate floor, until President Obama and the State Department allow Congress to hear from those who were on the ground during last year's Benghazi terrorist attack. Published October 30, 2013
Deportations plummet in 2013, lowest since 2007: Report
U.S. authorities deported fewer immigrants in fiscal year 2013 than at any time since President Obama took office, according to secret numbers obtained by the Center for Immigration Studies which suggest Mr. Obama's non-deportation policies have hindered removals of illegal immigrants. Published October 30, 2013
Clapper: Foreign agents spy on U.S. leaders, too
Top intelligence officials said Tuesday that foreign leaders are being disingenuous when they express outrage over American snooping of their communications, saying those countries try to spy on American leaders, too. Published October 29, 2013
National Parks are costly to keep up, but lawmakers want more
The federal government spends more than $33 for every one of the 24 daily visitors to the national park created to commemorate President Clinton's birthplace, according to a scathing report released Tuesday that said Congress has created far more parks than the system can handle. Published October 29, 2013
Patriot Act author introduces bill to halt NSA snooping
The Republican author of the Patriot Act in the House and the senior Democrat in the Senate teamed together Tuesday to write a bill that would stop the National Security Agency's bulk collection of phone records and require a court order if the government wants to search through Americans' communications. Published October 29, 2013
House issues subpoenas to main Obamacare website contractor
The House's chief investigator said Tuesday he has issued subpoenas to Quality Software Services Inc., demanding documents that will show whether the contractor hired to build the federal Obamacare website took precautions on data security. Published October 29, 2013
After a wave of Sandy disaster, a trickle of aid to victims
Congress rushed to send $60.4 billion in emergency money to aid Superstorm Sandy victims, saying people's lives depended on getting the full amount out the door as fast as possible — but a year after the storm, the tally shows very little has been spent. Published October 28, 2013
Immigration advocates want human rights monitors to oversee U.S. deportations
Immigrant advocates on Monday asked international human rights monitors to step in and oversee the Obama administration's deportation policies, saying the U.S. is violating international standards both in how it detains people and who it chooses to deport. Published October 28, 2013
