Stephen Dinan

GOP’s Graham: No immigration bill until 2012

Sen. Lindsey Graham, the sole Republican working on a bill to legalize illegal immigrants, in effect put the bill on the shelf on Tuesday, saying that a debate now would destroy any prospects for passage and that the issue needs to wait until 2012.

April 27, 2010

McCain, Kyl mount stiff defense of Ariz. law

Even as President Obama and others blast Arizona's new law cracking down on illegal immigration, Sen. John McCain defended the law Monday and blamed the federal government for foisting the problem onto the states.

April 26, 2010

Pressure mounting to legalize immigrants

Immigrant rights groups find they've forced immigration and legalization to the top of the crowded congressional agenda.

April 26, 2010

Ariz. governor signs tough immigration law

Arizona Gov. Jan Brewer signed a law making it a state crime to be an illegal immigrant, just hours after President Obama criticized the bill and said the federal government would review it to see if it violates civil rights laws.

April 23, 2010

Obama tells feds to check Arizona immigration bill

President Obama on Friday said Arizona's proposed law making it a state offense to be an illegal immigrant represents "irresponsibility," and said he's directed his administration to examine the law and see if it violates civil rights.

April 23, 2010

Hoyer retracts ‘un-American’ epithet

House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Thursday he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a mistake when they called anti-health care reform protests "un-American" last year.

April 23, 2010

House, Senate to shape Iran sanctions

The House voted Thursday to go to conference with the Senate on a bill to impose new sanctions on Iran - marking the first time in months that Congress has embraced a conference committee, the normal procedure that has been anything but normal recently.

April 23, 2010

Hoyer regrets calling protests ‘un-American’

UPDATED: House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer said Thursday he and Speaker Nancy Pelosi made a mistake when they called anti-health care protests "un-American" last year.

April 22, 2010

Durbin, Lugar urge halt to student deportations

Two leading senators on Wednesday told the Obama administration to stop deporting illegal-immigrant students, saying they might soon be legalized by Congress so deporting them now is unfair.

April 22, 2010

Bill would widen Clean Water Act

House Democrats pushed forward Wednesday with an effort to delete the word "navigable" from the act - a change that would give the government greater ability to enforce rules but that opponents said amounts to a federal power grab.

April 22, 2010

Senators ask Obama: stop deporting students

UPDATED: Two top senators on Wednesday told the Obama administration to stop deporting illegal immigrant students, saying they might soon be legalized by Congress so deporting them now is unfair.

April 21, 2010

Arizonan: Boycott us over immigration bill

One Arizona congressman called for businesses to boycott his own state, and a Catholic cardinal said the state may be encouraging "German Nazi and Russian Communist techniques" as pushback against Arizona's proposed crackdown on illegal immigrants went into high gear Tuesday.

April 21, 2010

Boycott of Arizona urged over immigration

An Arizona congressman urged businesses Tuesday to boycott his state if the governor signs into law a bill to make illegal immigration a state offense.

April 20, 2010

House punts on D.C. voting bill

UPDATED: The House will not vote on a bill to grant the District of Columbia a voting member of Congress, the majority leader said Tuesday.

April 20, 2010

Cantor endorses Rubio over Crist

House Minority Whip Eric Cantor endorsed Florida Republican Senate candidate Marco Rubio on Tuesday, saying he represents a "principled" choice for Republicans over Gov. Charlie Crist.

April 20, 2010

McCain, Kyl want troops on U.S.-Mexico border

With border violence flaring again, the two U.S. senators from Arizona on Monday called on President Obama to deploy 3,000 National Guard troops to the U.S.-Mexico border in their state, saying the borders must be secured before the White House pursues a broader immigration bill.

April 20, 2010

Senators issue Fort Hood subpoenas

Saying they feared a possible government cover-up, two senators issued subpoenas Monday to two of President Obama's Cabinet secretaries, ordering them to turn over documents related to the fatal shootings at Fort Hood, Texas, last year.

April 20, 2010

Senators demand Guard troops on border

Arizona's two senators on Monday said violence has skyrocketed on the U.S.-Mexico border, and called on President Obama to deploy National Guard troops, finish building 700 miles of fence and add 3,000 new Border Patrol agents to the region by 2015.

April 19, 2010

Voting party line: Specter, yes; Brown, no

Despite pledging not to be an automatic vote for Democrats, in the nearly one year since he switched parties, Sen. Arlen Specter has been all but that, repeatedly supporting his new party when they needed to head off Republican filibusters.

April 19, 2010

Immigrant groups try to steal thunder from tea party

Immigrant-rights groups sought to tap some of the movement's energy Thursday by using the protests to argue legalization of illegal immigrants would generate more tax revenue. Tea partiers, however, didn't buy it.

April 16, 2010