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Stephen Dinan

sdinan@washingtontimes.com

Stephen Dinan can be reached at sdinan@washingtontimes.com.

Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Donald Trump speaks to the media before leaving the White House in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 20, 2018, to travel to Florida, where he will spend Thanksgiving at Mar-a-Lago. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Trump vows to battle judges after latest immigration court defeat

President Trump vowed to retaliate Tuesday against liberal judges on the West Coast who he said appear to have it in for him, commenting hours after an Obama-appointed judge delivered yet another legal spanking to the administration on immigration policy.

November 20, 2018

In this Sept. 5, 2018, file photo, Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen speaks to George Washington University's Center for Cyber and Homeland Security, in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen)

Judge orders feds to release dozens of illegal immigrants from Iraq

A federal judge ordered the government Tuesday to release nearly 100 migrants from Iraq who were awaiting deportation, finding that there's little chance they will be sent back home any time soon, so keeping them in detention now violates their rights.

November 20, 2018

Central American migrants, as part of the Central American caravan trying to reach the United States, wait to receive donated dinner downtown in Mexicali, Mexico, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. The United States closed off northbound traffic for several hours at the busiest border crossing with Mexico to install new security barriers on Monday, a day after hundreds of Tijuana residents protested against the presence of thousands of Central American migrants.(AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Immigration surges to top issue in Gallup poll

Immigration is now the top issue for Americans, according to the latest Gallup polling released Tuesday that says 21 percent of Americans identified migration and the country's borders as the major problem facing the U.S.

November 20, 2018

Central American migrants, as part of the Central American caravan trying to reach the United States, wait in a line to receive donated dinner downtown in Mexicali, Mexico, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. The United States closed off northbound traffic for several hours at the busiest border crossing with Mexico to install new security barriers on Monday, a day after hundreds of Tijuana residents protested against the presence of thousands of Central American migrants. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Army says no timetable for pulling troops from border

The Army says there is no timetable for the 5,800 troops at the border being withdrawn, undercutting a general who said Monday that he was beginning to draw down troops this week and expected all of them would be home by mid-December.

November 20, 2018

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., holds a news conference with Sen. Bill Nelson, D-Fla., at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Nov. 13, 201816. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

Chuck Schumer demands inspector general probe Trump-Whitaker contacts

Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer asked Tuesday for the Justice Department inspector general to probe President Trump's past communications with Matthew G. Whitaker, the man he designated to be acting attorney general.

November 20, 2018

President Donald Trump listens during a meeting with law enforcement officials on the MS-13 street gang and border security, in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Judge blocks Trump asylum changes; rulings means caravan can demand asylum even after illegal entry

A federal judge blocked President Trump's new asylum crackdown policy early Tuesday, ruling that federal law allows anyone -- including illegal immigrants who jumped the border -- to demand protections once they reach U.S. soil.

November 20, 2018

Luis Cobos-Cenobio, 29, faces charges of terrorism and attempted capital murder after a shooting spree that saw him open fire at on police during two separate confrontations as he tried to escape a routine traffic stop last week, authorities said. (Screengrab via Washington County Sheriff's Office Facebook page)

Luis Cobos-Cenobio, illegal immigrant in Arkansas police shootout, in U.S. under DACA, ICE says

Luis Cobos-Cenobio, the illegal immigrant whose shootout with an Arkansas sheriff's deputy last week was caught on a dashboard cam and went viral, was in the U.S. under the Obama-era DACA program, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Monday.

November 19, 2018

Pedestrians stand near barbed wire at a legal Mexico-U.S. border crossing as they prepare to leave Tijuana, Mexico, Monday, Nov. 19, 2018. The United States closed off northbound traffic for several hours at the busiest border crossing with Mexico to install new security barriers on Monday, a day after hundreds of Tijuana residents protested against the presence of thousands of Central American migrants. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)

Mexico files human rights complaint against U.S. over asylum crackdown: Report

Mexico and three Central American countries have filed a protest with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights over President Trump's new asylum policy, arguing their citizens should be allowed to flee their countries to find refuge in the U.S.

November 19, 2018

CNN journalist Jim Acosta arrives at the White House after having his press pass restored, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

Jim Acosta’s press pass restored by White House with warning not to misbehave

The White House said Monday it has restored CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press pass, but warned him -- and the rest of the press corps -- that his disruptive antics will not be tolerated.

November 19, 2018

An anti-migrant demonstrator is surrounded by the press as she argues with a woman during a protest against the presence of thousands of Central American migrants in Tijuana, Mexico, Sunday, Nov. 18, 2018. Protesters accused the migrants of being messy, ungrateful and a danger to Tijuana; complained about how the caravan forced its way into Mexico, calling it an &quot;invasion,&quot; and voiced worries that their taxes might be spent to care for the group as they wait possibly months to apply for U.S. asylum. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd)

Caravan forces short-term shutdown on U.S. border as DHS boosts security

Homeland Security rushed to barricade part of the country's busiest land border crossing Monday after learning that some of the thousands of migrants massed on the Mexican side were planning to attempt a kamikaze run to sneak in.

November 19, 2018

Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker speaks at the Dept. of Justice's Annual Veterans Appreciation Day Ceremony, Thursday, Nov. 15, 2018, at the Justice Department in Washington. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Dem senators sue to overturn Donald Trump’s DOJ appointment

Three Senate Democrats filed a federal lawsuit Monday asking a judge to oust acting Attorney General Matthew G. Whitaker and install Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein instead.

November 19, 2018

CNN's Jim Acosta speaks to journalists on the North Lawn upon returning back to the White House in Washington, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018. U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the White House to immediately return Acosta's credentials. He found that Acosta was "irreparably harmed" and dismissed the government's argument that CNN could send another reporter in Acosta's place to cover the White House. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta)

White House vows new decision on Jim Acosta press pass Monday afternoon

The White House has already notified CNN reporter Jim Acosta that officials are preparing to re-revoke his press credentials, sending him a letter laying out his purported offenses and giving him a chance to respond.

November 19, 2018

In this Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, file photo Florida Gov. Rick Scott arrives for a meeting with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and new GOP senators at the Capitol in Washington. Scott is leading incumbent Sen. Bill Nelson in the state’s contentious Senate race. Official results posted by the state on Sunday, Nov. 18, showed Scott ahead of Nelson following legally-required hand and machine recounts. State officials will certify the final totals on Tuesday. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)

Republicans see good news in Bill Nelson, Andrew Gilliam, Stacey Abrams losses

Nearly two weeks after voters had their say, the final pieces of the election map are falling into place and the GOP is getting some desperately needed good news, after a spate of other races didn't go their way.

November 18, 2018

President Donald Trump answers questions from members of the media as he leaves the White House, Saturday Nov. 17, 2018, in Washington, en route to see fire damage in California. At far left is White House press secretary Sarah Huckabee Sanders. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Donald Trump says it’s ‘good time to do a shutdown’

With Congress still not on board his border wall plans, President Trump said Saturday that it's a "good time to do a shutdown," suggesting he will refuse to accept any appropriations bills that don't include the $5 billion he's asking for.

November 17, 2018

Republican Brian Kemp, right, speaks during a news conference as Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal listens in the Governor's ceremonial office at the Capitol on Thursday, Nov. 8, 2018, in Atlanta, Ga. Kemp resigned Thursday as Georgia's secretary of state, a day after his campaign said he's captured enough votes to become governor despite his rival's refusal to concede. (Bob Andres/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)

Brian Kemp wins Georgia governor’s race as Stacey Abrams gives up fight

While claiming "democracy failed Georgia," Democratic gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams said Friday she will no longer stand in the way of officials, certifying Brian Kemp, the Republican, as the winner.

November 16, 2018

This Nov. 14, 2016, file photo shows Rep.-elect Ruben Kihuen, D-Nev.,right, speaking with reporters as then-Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., left, listens on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Cliff Owen,File)

Ruben Kihuen, Mark Meadows cited in sexual harassment misconduct probes

The House ethics committee on Friday sanctioned Rep. Ruben Kihuen, saying he harassed several women, and Rep. Mark Meadows, saying he mishandled harassment allegations against his chief of staff.

November 16, 2018

President Donald Trump speaks during a signing ceremony of the "Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act," in the Oval Office of the White House, Friday, Nov. 16, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Supreme Court to hear case in census citizenship question

The Supreme Court announced Friday it will grant an expedited hearing on the Trump administration's request to add a question concerning citizenship to the 2020 census.

November 16, 2018

People walk outside CNN Center, Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2018, in Atlanta. CNN is now screening all people who enter after a suspicious package was delivered to CNN in New York. NYPD's chief of counterterrorism says the explosive device sent to CNN's headquarters in New York appeared to be sent by the same person who mailed pipe bombs to George Soros, Hillary Clinton and former President Barack Obama. (AP Photo/Ron Harris) **FILE**

Feds indict man for copycat CNN-bomb threats

A federal grand jury in Puerto Rico indicted a man this week on charges of threatening CNN, with prosecutors saying the man appeared to have been a copycat of the Trump-fan pipe bomb episode.

November 16, 2018

From left, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, continue discussions on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, April 26, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

Lindsey Graham poised to become Judiciary chairman; Chuck Grassley moves to Finance

Sen. Charles E. Grassley announced Friday he'll become chairman of the Finance Committee next year, creating a domino effect that leaves Sen. Lindsey Graham as the likely chairman of the Judiciary Committee.

November 16, 2018

CNN's Jim Acosta gestures as he leaves federal court in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2018, following a hearing on a legal challenge against President Donald Trump's administration over the revocation of his White House &quot;hard pass.&quot; (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta) ** FILE **

Judge orders White House to restore press pass to CNN’s Jim Acosta

A federal judge ordered the White House to restore CNN reporter Jim Acosta's press pass, ruling Friday that President Trump and his aides didn't give Mr. Acosta enough of a chance to explain himself or contest the revocation.

November 16, 2018