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Articles by Stephen Dinan

President Donald Trump speaks in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington in this March 24, 2017, file photo. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais, File)

Donald Trump to exit Paris climate accord

President Trump is laying the groundwork this week to withdraw from the Paris climate agreement, seeking options for how to extricate the U.S. in a process that could take years to complete.

May 31, 2017
An audit conducted by PILF, a voter integrity group, found 1,852 illegal immigrants voted in Virginia elections over a decade. Critics of Gov. Terry McAuliffe say he sought to keep such illegal voting from public view. (Associated Press)

Illegals in Virginia registered, voted in elections

When Maureen Erickson registered to vote in Prince William County, she listed her home address as a street in Guatemala, in what should have been a very strong indication that she wasn't a regular Virginia resident.

May 30, 2017
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, Thursday, May 25, 2017, before a Senate Appropriations subcommittee on the Homeland Security Department's fiscal 2018 budget. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

John Kelly battles immigrant-rights groups

Immigrant-rights groups were left steaming after Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly said most of the illegal immigrant children who streamed into the U.S. in recent years were "a huge scam," abusing lax policies to gain a foothold here.

May 28, 2017
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly (Associated Press) **FILE**

Trump administration moves to expand H-2B visa program

The Trump administration is likely to expand a controversial guest-worker program, Homeland Security Secretary John F. Kelly told Congress on Thursday, in a move that's bound to anger some of the president's staunchest supporters.

May 25, 2017
In this June 26, 2015, file photo, a man holds a U.S. and a rainbow flag outside the Supreme Court in Washington after the court legalized gay marriage nationwide. A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Supreme Court can keep protesters off its marble plaza without violating their constitutional right to free speech. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said that First Amendment rights stop at the sidewalk in front of the majestic courthouse and do not extend to the plaza. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Democrats demand answers on sexual orientation census questions

Two Democratic senators this week demanded answers on why the Census Bureau canceled plans to prod Americans to divulge their sexual orientation and gender identity, saying the government needs to know those answers to figure out how to spend money.

May 23, 2017
Budget Director Mick Mulvaney holds up a copy of President Trump's proposed fiscal 2018 federal budget as he speaks to members of the media at the White House on Tuesday. (Associated Press)

Donald Trump delivers balanced budget to Congress

The White House's newly minted 2018 budget sprints toward balance over the next decade by counting on a major economic growth spurt to boost revenue and deep cuts on the spending side -- all of it enhanced by more than a few gimmicks and wildly optimistic assumptions.

May 23, 2017
As envisioned by President Trump, some 32 miles of new wall will be built in the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley sector at a price of $784 million, or $24.5 million per mile. (Associated Press/File)

Trump border wall costs $24.5M per mile

The first leg of President Trump's planned border wall will cost an exorbitant $24.5 million per mile, according to the 2018 budget he submitted Tuesday that details a massive shake-up in immigration policy.

May 23, 2017
Pope Francis waves to the crowd during his weekly general audience, in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, Wednesday, May 17, 2017. (L'Osservatore Romano/Pool Photo via AP)

Donald Trump to meet with Pope Francis

The world's most powerful president and religion's most visible voice with meet for the first time Wednesday -- but not before President Trump has to cross through the Vatican wall that divided the two men, metaphorically, last year.

May 22, 2017
Tens of thousands of Haitians have been living in the United States since a deadly earthquake in 2010. (Associated Press/File)

Haitian refugees granted additional 6-month deportation reprieve

Homeland Security has granted an additional six-month grace period to Haitians in the U.S., saying the island nation is still not sufficiently recovered from the devastating 2010 earthquake to absorb the tens of thousands of people who are here under temporary protected status (TPS).

May 22, 2017