Stephen Dinan

U.S. deficit rises as Trump tax cuts, immigration crackdown sap revenue

President Trump's tariffs have given Uncle Sam a boost, but the government will still run a nearly $2 trillion deficit this year, the Congressional Budget Office said Wednesday, pointing to overheated spending that far outstrips revenue coming in the door.

February 11, 2026

Bondi brushes off Epstein questions, says Trump’s transparency is unassailable

Attorney General Pam Bondi rebuffed Democrats' demands to apologize to Epstein victims Wednesday, calling it "theatrics," but saying the Justice Department is ready to investigate anyone else the victims can identify as involved in their trafficking.

February 11, 2026

FBI raid of voting records meant to find long-elusive evidence of ballot misconduct in 2020 count

When the FBI seized voting records from Fulton County, Georgia, last month it was looking for evidence of "defects" in the vote count from the 2020 election, according to an affidavit unsealed Tuesday that backed up the search warrant.

February 10, 2026

‘Going to hell’: ICE in hot seat over Minnesota deaths

The government's top immigration enforcers came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday to deliver their first defense after the slaying of two American citizens in Minnesota, facing vicious attacks from Democrats who compared them to Nazis and slave patrols and suggested the head of ICE faced eternal damnation.

February 10, 2026

Democratic Rep. LaMonica McIver asks acting ICE director if he’s ‘going to hell’

Rep. LaMonica McIver challenged the head of ICE on Tuesday, asking him how he thinks he'll fare on judgment day.

February 10, 2026

ICE says it does not maintain database on Americans

Acting ICE Director Todd Lyons flatly rejected the accusation that his agency maintains a database of Americans who have protested against President Trump's deportation efforts.

February 10, 2026

Judge blocks Justice Dept.’s request for Michigan voter data

A federal judge on Tuesday dismissed the Trump administration's lawsuit trying to get a look at Michigan's voter rolls, saying the Justice Department is not entitled to the information.

February 10, 2026

Court blocks California’s no-masking law aimed at ICE, but allows visible ID requirement

A federal judge on Monday issued an order blocking California from enforcing its new law barring ICE and other federal law enforcement officers from wearing masks, ruling that the state illegally targeted the feds.

February 9, 2026

Judge orders feds to pay to bring back deported illegal immigrants

Taxpayers suddenly find themselves on the hook for bringing back illegal immigrants who judges say were wrongly deported.

February 9, 2026

DOD employee moonlighted as money mule for Nigerian fraudsters: Feds

Federal authorities announced charges Monday against a Defense Department employee they say was secretly working as a money mule for a Nigerian fraud network, siphoning millions of dollars into their accounts from American victims.

February 9, 2026

DOJ reaches legal settlement declaring Biden’s border ‘parole’ to be unlawful

The Trump administration has quietly struck a legal settlement that not only ends one of President Biden's mass migrant "parole" programs but could block future presidents from trying to revive them.

February 8, 2026

Appeals court backs Trump in major fight over detaining long-time illegal immigrants

A federal appeals court delivered a major boost to President Trump on Friday, ruling in favor of his administration's new interpretation of immigration law that would allow him to hold long-time illegal immigrants in detention while they fight their deportations.

February 7, 2026

Illegal immigrant convicted of voting, stealing disability and food stamp benefits

An illegal immigrant from Colombia was convicted Friday on charges that she voted illegally in the 2024 presidential election and stole some $400,000 in Social Security disability, food stamp and housing assistance.

February 6, 2026

DHS tallies all the criminal migrants California let go from prisons, jails since Trump took office

California's failure to honor ICE deportation "detainer" requests has led to 4,561 migrants with criminal records being released back into communities since President Trump took office, the Department of Homeland Security said Friday as it begged the state to cooperate in turning people over.

February 6, 2026

Man charged with attempted murder of Trump’s budget director Russ Vought

A Maryland man has been arrested on attempted murder charges against Russ Vought, one of President Trump's top aides.

February 5, 2026

GOP rejects Democrats’ new proposed rules for ICE as ‘radical,’ unrealistic

Republicans on Thursday resoundingly rejected Democrats' new proposals to reel in ICE, saying the 10-point list of reforms, including barring arrests near schools and courts and giving localities a veto over operations, was the stuff of "fantasy land."

February 5, 2026

Feds arrest antifa activist in Minnesota, charged with making threats to ICE

The Justice Department announced charges Thursday against a self-described "antifa" agitator in Minnesota, accusing him of encouraging the killings of federal officers carrying out President Trump's deportation surge.

February 5, 2026

Democrats reveal 10-point list of demands for ICE reforms

Democratic leaders laid out their terms for continuing to fund Homeland Security on Wednesday, saying the department must severely curb its immigration enforcement and return to Biden-era policies limiting arrests if Congress is to pass a new spending bill.

February 4, 2026

Supreme Court allows California’s Democrat-friendly congressional map to stand

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rebuffed Republicans' challenge to California's new congressional map, delivering a significant boost to Democrats' hopes of taking control of the U.S. House in November's elections.

February 4, 2026

61% of illegal immigrant households use welfare; children are main conduit for aid

Roughly half of all immigrant-headed households in the U.S. use welfare -- and among illegal immigrant homes in particular, it's even higher, at 61%, according to a new study Wednesday that argues that's another reason to enforce immigration laws.

February 4, 2026