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Articles by Stephen Dinan

Lamar Alexander’s parting shot: Senate needs ‘a change of behavior’

Sen. Lamar Alexander, retiring this year after three terms, pleaded Wednesday with fellow senators to get the storied chamber back on track as the backbone of legislative compromise, warning against shortcuts such as Democrats' ravenous appetite for doing away with the filibuster.

December 2, 2020
Sanctuary policies for criminal immigrants have essentially been created with Democratic election wins in two Georgia counties. (Associated Press photograph)

Democrat wins in Georgia create immigrant sanctuaries

Republicans' Georgia election troubles went deep down the ballot last month, including losing two sheriff's jobs that flipped to Democrats, both of whom have promised to end cooperative agreements with ICE.

November 29, 2020
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer looks on during an operation in Escondido, Calif. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull, File)

San Diego border drug raid exposes Sinaloa Cartel operations

Federal prosecutors announced Tuesday that they raided a suspected drug trafficking garage in San Diego and netted more than 1,500 pounds of cocaine, 52 pounds of fentanyl, $3.5 million in cash and 20,000 rounds of .50 caliber ammunition -- the largest haul ever in Southern California.

November 24, 2020
Acting Homeland Secretary Chad Wolf gives a speech in front of a new section of the border wall Thursday, Oct. 29, 2020, in McAllen, Texas. (Joel Martinez/The Monitor via AP) **FILE**

Feds paying up to $870,000 an acre for border land for wall

The federal government has paid as much as $870,000 to take ownership of private land along the border in Texas for space to build President Trump's border wall, according to a new watchdog report released this week.

November 24, 2020
Then-Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas speaks at the Black Hat conference Thursday, Aug. 6, 2015, in Las Vegas. The annual computer security conference draws thousands of hackers and security professionals to Las Vegas. (AP Photo/John Locher)

Joe Biden picks Alejandro Mayorkas, architect of DACA, to lead DHS

Presumed President-elect Joseph R. Biden said Monday he wants Alejandro Mayorkas to lead the Homeland Security Department, tapping an Obama-era mainstay who helped create the DACA program that protected "Dreamers," but was also part of the team that expanded family detention.

November 23, 2020
In this Nov. 19, 2019, photo, asylum seekers from Central America and Cuba follow an Immigration and Customs Enforcement guard into the Richard C. White Federal Building in El Paso, Texas. A judge on Thursday, Nov. 19, 2020, has blocked a Trump administration rule that would have put up new roadblocks for asylum-seekers convicted of a variety of crimes. It was set to take effect Friday. The federal judge in San Francisco says current federal law already includes plenty of disqualifying crimes such as drug trafficking, money laundering and counterfeiting. (AP Photo/Cedar Attanasio) **FILE**

Judge blocks DHS asylum crackdown on lower-level criminals

A federal judge last week blocked President Trump's latest attempt to crack down on asylum-seekers after the administration expanded the number and types of crimes that can bar people from getting protection to include offenses like multiple DUIs and ID fraud.

November 20, 2020