Stephen Dinan

Democrats want Biden to declare deportation amnesty for Palestinians in U.S.

Dozens of Democratic lawmakers have signed on to a draft letter prodding the Biden administration to declare a deportation amnesty for Palestinians already in the U.S., The Washington Times has learned.

November 8, 2023

Lawmakers tell FBI to give up warrantless searches if agency wants to keep digital snooping powers

An influential coalition of liberal and conservative lawmakers said Tuesday that they would try to block the renewal of the government's chief spying tool unless the intelligence agencies agree to new rules requiring warrants before peering into Americans' communications.

November 7, 2023

House GOP probes Biden attempt to crush firearms industry with export ban

House Republicans demanded Tuesday that the Biden administration revoke a surprise policy that shuts down the firearms industry's ability to export guns to civilians around much of the globe, calling the move a "ridiculous" attempt to crush America's gun-makers.

November 7, 2023

U.S. solicitor defends gun bans for dangerous people; courts dealing with Bruen ruling want clarity

The Biden administration asked the Supreme Court on Tuesday to preserve gun control laws that deny firearms to people deemed dangerous even if they have not actually been convicted of a felony, saying that standard has long been accepted as a valid reason to restrict gun rights.

November 7, 2023

Senate GOP’s border security plan would restart border wall, restrict asylum claims

Key Senate Republicans on Monday announced a road map for stiffening border security by restarting construction on the border wall, limiting the expansive asylum claims illegal immigrants use to get caught and released, and shutting down the "family loophole" that rewards migrants who bring children on the dangerous journey.

November 6, 2023

Push to block Palestinian refugees, migrants intensifies

Efforts to block Palestinians from reaching the U.S. as immigrants or refugees are intensifying on Capitol Hill, where Republicans say the country must resist pressure to welcome people fleeing the Israel-Hamas war.

November 6, 2023

Biden’s pitch for war spending: U.S. defense industry needs customers

Thirty years after the post-Cold War peace dividend and 10 years after the post-Iraq war dividend, Democrats and Republicans are now competing to funnel more cash to the Pentagon as the U.S. suddenly finds itself bankrolling two wars on the other side of the globe.

November 5, 2023

Feds nab ‘national security’ case Palestinian who got illegal gun, may have been training for attack

Federal authorities have arrested a man they say entered the U.S. on a Palestinian passport, became an illegal immigrant, was granted a work permit by the Biden administration and then obtained an illegal firearm.

November 3, 2023

Weak plea deal for anti-Trump IRS leaker sparks call for tougher law

Republican senators announced legislation to double the potential prison sentence for anyone caught leaking sensitive taxpayer information, saying the current law is woefully weak.

November 3, 2023

Former Gov. O’Malley promises to modernize Social Security agency

Former Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley told senators on Thursday he's ready to hang up his political spurs and oversee a major modernization at the Social Security Administration, calling the agency's current level of customer service "unacceptable."

November 2, 2023

DHS let employees download risky apps to government phones

An inspector general issued an alert Thursday to Homeland Security saying one of its key immigration agencies is so lax in policing use of mobile devices that adversary nations could track agents or steal their data.

November 2, 2023

Supreme Court to hear case brought by ‘poster child’ for gun control, advocates say

Zackey Rahimi is an odd choice to be the face of the gun rights movement.

November 1, 2023

FBI arrests Cornell student suspected of threatening to kill Jewish students

The FBI on Tuesday arrested a Cornell University student who authorities believe was behind a series of threats to kill Jewish students at the school.

October 31, 2023

Special agents yanked off child trafficking cases to make sandwiches for migrants at border

A whistleblower has told Congress that special agents at Homeland Security Investigations have been pulled off cases involving child traffickers and sexual exploitation and been deployed to the border to make sandwiches for illegal immigrants.

October 31, 2023

DHS assessing legality of deporting foreign students who cheered Hamas

Homeland Security is evaluating whether it has the legal authority to deport students here on visas who praised Hamas and urged the eradication of Israel after the Oct. 7 sneak attack.

October 31, 2023

Mayorkas ducks questions on pro-Hamas employee; Hawley calls him ‘despicable’

Sen. Josh Hawley unloaded on Alejandro Mayorkas Tuesday after the Homeland Security secretary said he has not fired the pro-Hamas employee who worked at his department and declined to tell Congress what kind of cases she handled as an asylum officer.

October 31, 2023

FBI says terrorism threat hits ‘a whole other level’ after Hamas attack

Terrorist threats against the U.S. reached "a whole other level" after the Hamas attack on Israel, FBI Director Christopher A. Wray told Congress on Tuesday, saying the big players in terrorism have all renewed calls to attack America and its interests.

October 31, 2023

Mayorkas to face tough questions about conducting business using private email

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas will face Congress on Tuesday with a host of pressing questions about terrorism and border security -- but one senator also plans to challenge him on his use of a private email to conduct government business.

October 31, 2023

Mayorkas’ border bet fails as illegal immigration rises

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas began 2023 with a bet: He figured if he gave illegal immigrants a chance to schedule their arrivals, he could get them to come in an "orderly" fashion through airports and official crossings and stop sneaking into the U.S.

October 30, 2023

Judge orders Biden administration to stop cutting holes in Texas’ border fence

A federal judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday barring the Biden administration from cutting holes in Texas' border defenses except in cases of severe medical emergency.

October 30, 2023