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Articles by Stephen Dinan

In this Tuesday, June 8, 2021, photo, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks at a news conference in Austin, Texas. Abbott, who faces a contested reelection primary next year, is pushing looser gun laws than he ever previously embraced and proposing unprecedented state actions, including promises to build more walls on the Mexican border. Similar scenes are playing out in campaigns in other red states including Arkansas and Idaho, where ultra-right-wing challengers are tapping into anger among Republicans over Trump’s election loss and coronavirus-related lockdowns. (AP Photo/Eric Gay) **FILE**

Biden DOJ sues to stop Texas border crackdown

The federal Justice Department filed a lawsuit Friday to block Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's latest attempt to fill gaps in border security with a policy that allows state troopers to stop and turn back vehicles carrying illegal immigrants away from the boundary region.

July 30, 2021
In this May 25, 2010 file photo, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent walks down the aisle among shackled Mexican immigrants a boarded a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement charter jet for deportation in the air between Chicago, Il. and Harlingen, Texas. A Homeland Security Department internal watchdog says U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement could have saved millions of dollars on charter flights carrying deported immigrants to their home countries by not leaving seats empty. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

DHS makes first speedy deportation flights as border crisis deepens

Homeland Security officials said the first expedited removal flights of illegal immigrant families back to Central America took off Friday under a new initiative to stem the border surge, braving criticism from immigrant-rights activists who called the move "appalling."

July 30, 2021
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on the topic of illegal immigration during a press conference on the border at Anzalduas Park, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Mission, Texas. (Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP)

Biden administration, Texas move to get tough at the border

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday authorized the National Guard to help arrest those involved in immigrant smuggling along his state's border with Mexico, marking the latest get-tough approach officials are trying as the border situation deteriorates.

July 27, 2021
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press conference with Guatemala's Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo in Guatemala City, Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Mayorkas is in Guatemala for a two-day visit. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) **FILE**

DHS chief Mayorkas says grim border numbers are misleading

The border situation isn't as bad as it is being portrayed, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told senators on Tuesday, saying that the 20-year high of Border Patrol apprehensions is misleading because many of the migrants are repeat-offenders who are making multiple attempts each month.

July 27, 2021
In this Thursday, June 10, 2021, photo, a pair of migrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico to Yuma, Ariz., to seek asylum. (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia) **FILE**

DHS approves new work on border wall

Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it will do some repairs and "reinforcing" of the border wall, marking the first upgrades under the Biden administration to former President Donald Trump's signature initiative.

July 27, 2021
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Phoenix is seen here on Aug. 5, 2008. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

EXCLUSIVE: Homeland Security would need years to prepare for new amnesty

The massive immigrant-legalization program that Democrats plan to include in their upcoming budget would overwhelm the government's citizenship agency, adding millions of new cases to an agency that, according to a secret internal study, is already running well above its red line.

July 26, 2021
Tucson Samaritans check the border wall, including a small gap in the new construction, near Sasabe, Ariz., on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Opponents that seek to control immigration, such as the Washington-based think tank Center for Immigration Studies, contend the border wall and other barriers are a better way to keep deaths down by keeping migrants out. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

DHS cancels 31 miles of border wall in Texas

Homeland Security Department officials on Friday officially canceled contracts for 31 miles of border wall construction that had been planned for Texas, saying the barriers were "not necessary" to save lives or help the environment.

July 23, 2021