Stephen Dinan

Dem lawmakers rail against speedy asylum process, say illegal immigrants forced to recount trauma

Congressional Democrats demanded Tuesday that Homeland Security stop conducting initial asylum screenings on newly arrived illegal immigrants in Border Patrol facilities, saying it's unfair to make the migrants have to recount traumatic events while in the custody of people with guns and badges.

August 1, 2023

House GOP launches DOJ probe over bungled plea deal with Hunter Biden

House Republicans launched an investigation Monday into how the Justice Department bungled a plea deal with Hunter Biden so badly that a judge sent them back for a mulligan.

July 31, 2023

ICE arrests, deportations must clear high hurdles; officers see ‘excuse for us not to do our job’

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement rekindled its policy that limits the illegal immigrants whom officers are allowed to arrest and deport, moving after the Supreme Court shot down a legal challenge to the policy.

July 31, 2023

Cartels thrive under Biden’s new policy; smugglers demand higher pay with lower numbers at border

Miguel Angel Salazar-Estrada, who rafted over the Rio Grande, told Border Patrol agents that his family paid $17,000 for his smuggling from Guatemala.

July 30, 2023

IRS skimps on audits of high-dollar partnerships

The IRS barely audits taxpayers that file as large partnerships, and it bungles the selection process for those that it does audit by failing to pick the returns likeliest to be in arrears, Congress' chief watchdog reported.

July 28, 2023

GOP tees up vote to cancel Biden’s new border policy

Senate Republicans announced legislation Thursday that would erase President Biden's new border policy that allows unauthorized migrants to enter the U.S. as long as they first schedule an appointment with Homeland Security.

July 27, 2023

GOP bill would force DHS to reopen northern border to pre-COVID hours

GOP lawmakers announced legislation Thursday to force the Department of Homeland Security to restore northern border crossings to the hours they had before the government shuttered them for the pandemic.

July 27, 2023

Evasive Mayorkas denies ‘smiling’ in mockery of Republican queries

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas's feud with congressional Republicans reached the absurd Wednesday as he battled lawmakers over whether or not he was "smiling" while evading their questions.

July 26, 2023

Economy will slow this year, but avoid recession: CBO

The 2024 presidential campaign will take place under a troubled economy, the Congressional Budget Office projected Wednesday, foreseeing slowing growth and rising unemployment.

July 26, 2023

DHS secretary tells Congress he’s ‘not smiling’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas wanted the public to know he wasn't smiling Wednesday as he faced intense criticism from Republicans over his job performance.

July 26, 2023

Senators challenge USDA to detail spending to group that funded Wuhan lab

The National Institutes of Health is pulling funding for the Wuhan virus lab, but three Republican senators are trying to make sure EcoHealth Alliance, which was the conduit for taxpayer funds to reach Wuhan, doesn't skate on its past links to the lab.

July 26, 2023

Spendthrift EPA growing too fast under Biden, watchdog warns

Somewhat tamed by the Trump administration, the Environmental Protection Agency has gained a new lease on power under President Biden, according to a new report that says the agency has so much cash coming in that it can't be properly audited for waste and fraud.

July 26, 2023

Judge punches hole in Biden border policy by blocking new asylum limits

A federal judge blocked the Biden administration's attempt to impose stricter rules on asylum-seekers, blunting the stick in the government's new carrot-and-stick approach to illegal immigration.

July 25, 2023

Biden’s DOJ sues Texas to remove water wall from Rio Grande

The Biden administration filed a lawsuit Monday asking a judge to order Texas to remove the floating barrier the state put into the Rio Grande to try to block illegal immigration, saying the water wall amounts to illegal construction.

July 24, 2023

Abbott blames Biden for illegal immigrants that drown in Rio Grande

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott blasted President Biden on Monday, telling him to either find a way to secure the border or get out of the way of states that want to do it themselves.

July 24, 2023

IRS agents stop making surprise house calls; visit to journalist raises questions

Bloodied by bad press, the IRS promised Monday to reverse course and stop sending officers out to make surprise house calls to collect unpaid taxes from Americans.

July 24, 2023

Offended Republicans pull funding from Smithsonian’s American Latino exhibit

When newly elected Rep. Juan Ciscomani first came to Washington late last year to prepare for his swearing-in, he took his six children to the Smithsonian's new exhibit on Latino history, eager to show them their heritage.

July 23, 2023

Senior Border Patrol chief ousted after criticizing Biden border chaos, Republicans say

Top Republicans demanded answers Friday over what they said was an effort to punish a senior Border Patrol official who has been critical of the Biden administration's immigration policies.

July 21, 2023

FBI source: Hunter Biden was ‘stupid,’ but Burisma paid him to keep Joe Biden involved

Burisma executives thought Hunter Biden was "stupid" but felt they had to keep paying him in order to continue political protection from his father, Joe Biden, an FBI confidential source reported to the bureau in 2020.

July 20, 2023

Mayorkas boasts illegal border crossings fell 65% under new Biden policies

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas took a victory lap Thursday over the dropping number of illegal immigrants trying to sneak across the southern border, saying it's evidence that his carrot-and-stick approach is paying off.

July 20, 2023