Stephen Dinan

Democrats promise attempt to block new border wall money

Top Senate Democrats vowed Wednesday to force a vote to overturn President Trump's reported plans to funnel more money away from the Pentagon and toward his border wall construction, saying the administration is insulting military families by stealing money earmarked for their housing.

January 15, 2020

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez toilet-drinking charge ‘absolutely false,’ Mark Morgan says

The government's top border official emphatically refuted the claim that women were told to drink water out of toilets during the summer migrant surge, telling reporters on Tuesday that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's misleading assertion was the result of "broken Spanish."

January 14, 2020

DHS triples rate of asylum ‘fear’ denials as new policy kicks in

The Department of Homeland Security fielded a record number of "credible fear" claims from asylum seekers at the border last fiscal year, fueling the migrant surge, but figured out ways to push back and tripled the denial rate by the end of the year.

January 14, 2020

New York sanctuary policy forced release of suspect in shocking murder

New York City defied a deportation request from ICE last year and released an illegal immigrant into the community -- and now he stands accused of killing a 92-year-old woman beloved by her community.

January 14, 2020

Equal Rights Amendment clears first hurdle in Virginia legislature

A Virginia House committee gave first approval Tuesday to the Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, sending the legislation to the chamber floor.

January 14, 2020

Texas becomes first state to reject refugees under new Trump veto

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott became the first in the nation to refuse to host refugees in his state, flexing the new veto the Trump administration created last year to give state and local officials a say in whether they become a destination for the migrants.

January 10, 2020

Lower-wage workers harmed by immigration, Congressional Budget Office report finds

Immigration helps the U.S. economy, but it's not as good for individual workers, particularly those at the low end of the wage scale for whom the increased competition for jobs leaves them worse off, the Congressional Budget Office said in a report this week.

January 9, 2020

Illegal immigration across border down for the seventh straight month

Illegal immigration at the southwest border dropped again in December, Homeland Security announced Thursday, continuing a seven-month decline that signals last spring's border crisis has largely been solved.

January 9, 2020

Donald Trump takes victory lap as court rules border wall building can proceed

President Trump got a double-dose of good news from the border this week after the latest numbers showed illegal immigration continues to drop, and a federal appeals court ruling allowed him to divert $3.6 billion in Pentagon money toward building his wall.

January 9, 2020

Ralph Northam, Dick Saslaw thwart Virginia liberals agenda

Sen. Richard L. Saslaw, a Democrat from Fairfax County, has been waiting 26 years for his party to regain unified control of state government in Virginia.

January 8, 2020

Heraclio Osorio-Arellanes gets life sentence in Brian Terry ‘Fast and Furious’ killing

A man convicted of shooting a U.S. Border Patrol agent nine years ago in a case that exposed a botched federal gun operation known as "Fast and Furious" was sentenced Wednesday to life in prison.

January 8, 2020

Eileen Filler-Corn sworn in as first female House speaker in Virginia’s 400-year history

Virginia swore in its first woman speaker of the House of Delegates Wednesday, kicking off a state General Assembly session for the history books.

January 8, 2020

Justice Department says Equal Rights Amendment is dead; Virginia ratification can’t revive it

The Equal Rights Amendment has been dead for more than four decades, the Justice Department ruled Wednesday, and neither ratification by Virginia nor an effort to revive it by Congress can bring it back to life.

January 8, 2020

DHS announces pilot program to take DNA samples from people arrested at border

The Department of Homeland Security announced a new pilot program to begin taking DNA cheek swabs from people arrested by Border Patrol agents in Detroit and by officers at on border crossing in Texas, covering everyone including migrants and U.S. citizens.

January 7, 2020

Illegal immigrants rescued after getting stuck on Trump’s wall

The Border Patrol had to ride to the rescue of three migrants Sunday after they got stuck on top of President Trump's border wall in San Diego.

January 7, 2020

Nancy Pelosi effort to limit Trump moves on Iran likely to be thwarted

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's new effort to rein in President Trump on Iran is likely to end in defeat — just as Congress's past attempts to constrain Mr. Trump on Yemen and to block President Obama on Libya and Syria were also doomed.

January 6, 2020

Governors buck Trump on denying refugees

America's governors have overwhelmingly refused President Trump's offer to exercise a veto over new refugees being sent to their states, in what activists say is a stunning and heartening affirmation of the Statue of Liberty.

January 6, 2020

Activists accuse Boston schools of aiding ICE deportations

Boston's public schools have for years been indirectly providing information to ICE on unruly illegal immigrant students, resulting in at least one of them getting deported, civil rights groups claimed Monday.

January 6, 2020

Nancy Pelosi: War Powers Resolution vote to limit Iran retaliation set

House Democrats will hold a vote this week to try to block President Trump from escalating the conflict with Iran, using the War Powers Resolution to impose a time limit on his military action.

January 5, 2020

Donald Trump gives Congress justification for missile strike, shields document from public view

President Trump officially notified Congress on Saturday of the drone missile strike that killed a top Iranian general in Iraq, in a move that checks off a key legal box but left Democrats with even more questions about the president's motives.

January 4, 2020