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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott speaks on the topic of illegal immigration during a press conference on the border at Anzalduas Park, Tuesday, March 9, 2021, in Mission, Texas. (Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP)

Biden administration, Texas move to get tough at the border

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott on Tuesday authorized the National Guard to help arrest those involved in immigrant smuggling along his state's border with Mexico, marking the latest get-tough approach officials are trying as the border situation deteriorates.

July 27, 2021
U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks during a press conference with Guatemala's Foreign Minister Pedro Brolo in Guatemala City, Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Mayorkas is in Guatemala for a two-day visit. (AP Photo/Moises Castillo) **FILE**

DHS chief Mayorkas says grim border numbers are misleading

The border situation isn't as bad as it is being portrayed, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told senators on Tuesday, saying that the 20-year high of Border Patrol apprehensions is misleading because many of the migrants are repeat-offenders who are making multiple attempts each month.

July 27, 2021
In this Thursday, June 10, 2021, photo, a pair of migrant families from Brazil pass through a gap in the border wall to reach the United States after crossing from Mexico to Yuma, Ariz., to seek asylum.  (AP Photo/Eugene Garcia) **FILE**

DHS approves new work on border wall

Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it will do some repairs and "reinforcing" of the border wall, marking the first upgrades under the Biden administration to former President Donald Trump's signature initiative.

July 27, 2021
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services building in Phoenix is seen here on Aug. 5, 2008. (Associated Press) ** FILE **

EXCLUSIVE: Homeland Security would need years to prepare for new amnesty

The massive immigrant-legalization program that Democrats plan to include in their upcoming budget would overwhelm the government's citizenship agency, adding millions of new cases to an agency that, according to a secret internal study, is already running well above its red line.

July 26, 2021
Tucson Samaritans check the border wall, including a small gap in the new construction, near Sasabe, Ariz., on Wednesday, May 19, 2021. Opponents that seek to control immigration, such as the Washington-based think tank Center for Immigration Studies, contend the border wall and other barriers are a better way to keep deaths down by keeping migrants out. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)

DHS cancels 31 miles of border wall in Texas

Homeland Security Department officials on Friday officially canceled contracts for 31 miles of border wall construction that had been planned for Texas, saying the barriers were "not necessary" to save lives or help the environment.

July 23, 2021