Stephen Dinan

Joe Biden faces growing bipartisan worry over border

An Arizona Democratic senator added her voice Monday to growing bipartisan complaints over President Biden's handling of the border, labeling the situation an "ongoing crisis" and demanding immediate steps.

March 22, 2021

Alejandro Mayorias, Homeland Security secretary: Biden team has plans to diffuse migrant surge

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, fresh from a trip to the border, made the rounds of the Sunday political talk shows to try to defuse growing worries over the Biden team's handling of the migrant surge, insisting they have plans to solve the situation.

March 21, 2021

ICE ends long-term detention of migrant families

ICE has effectively ended long-term detention for migrant families, delivering a huge win to immigrant rights activists who for years had pushed for the move.

March 21, 2021

Texas governor orders probe of drinking water at Biden’s camps for migrant children

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott ordered an investigation Saturday into the water supply for a camp the Biden administration has opened for migrant children, after he said water at another camp proved to be undrinkable.

March 20, 2021

House passes bill provides citizenship to ‘Dreamers,’ farmworkers in U.S. illegally

The House approved two bills Thursday that could grant citizenship rights to about half of the 11 million immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally, with Democrats saying the current surge of migrants at the border shouldn't stand in the way of rewarding those who've already been here for years.

March 18, 2021

Border Patrol union chief: ‘I do not know of one individual that does not think walls work’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas testified to Congress this week that Border Patrol agents aren't necessarily fans of the border wall.

March 18, 2021

Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS chief, faces call to resign over border situation

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas is facing a call to resign from Sen. Lindsey Graham, who said Thursday that if the department chief can't change policies to solve the border situation he needs to find a new job.

March 18, 2021

Crash that killed 8 illegal immigrants followed 50-mile chase at 100 MPH

Federal agents brought charges Wednesday against a man they say was responsible for the deaths of eight illegal immigrants in Texas he was trying to smuggle deeper into the U.S.

March 17, 2021

Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS chief, admits ‘mistakes made’ in failing to test migrants for COVID-19

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas admitted Wednesday that his department has released migrants who jumped the border into communities without testing them for the coronavirus, but he said officials are working to fix the problem.

March 17, 2021

Alejandro Mayorkas, Homeland Security secretary: Suspected terrorists crossing through ‘land border’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged Wednesday that known or suspected terrorists are crossing through the southern border, though he said it's been going on for years.

March 17, 2021

DHS secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: ‘Our border is secure’

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas declared the border "secure" on Wednesday, telling Congress he has plans to address the massive surge of illegal immigrants who say they're rushing to the U.S. to take advantage of what they see as lax Biden policies.

March 17, 2021

‘Unlawful’: GOP demands probe into Joe Biden’s border wall halt

Republican senators requested an investigation into President Biden's order to pause border wall construction, saying Wednesday that the directive is "a blatant violation of federal law" because it blocks spending Congress specifically authorized.

March 17, 2021

Michael Avenatti wins another two-month reprieve from federal judge

Disgraced lawyer Michael Avenatti won another two-month reprieve from having to go back behind bars during the pandemic, though a federal judge said Tuesday he should get himself vaccinated.

March 16, 2021

Nancy Pelosi, Democrats push citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants amid border surge

House Democrats are rushing this week to approve citizenship rights for millions of illegal immigrants already in the U.S., even as the Homeland Security secretary warned that agents are arresting more border jumpers than they have in two decades.

March 16, 2021

Alejandro Mayorkas, DHS secretary: Illegal immigration on border at highest rate in two decades

The number of illegal immigrants trying to jump the border is on pace for the highest rate in two decades, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Tuesday, delivering a sobering account just a day before he is to face Congress.

March 16, 2021

Michael Avenatti should get COVID-19 vaccine, report to jail, feds say

Federal prosecutors told a judge this week that Michael Avenatti, the disgraced anti-Trump lawyer, should get the COVID vaccine so he can be put back in jail.

March 15, 2021

8 illegal immigrants fleeing authorities near border die in crash

Eight illegal immigrants in a vehicle fleeing authorities near the border in Texas died in a car crash Monday, adding to the growing body count accompanying the surge of migrants under President Biden.

March 15, 2021

John Katko: Terror suspects are part of border surge

People on the terrorist watchlist have been nabbed trying to cross the border as part of the new surge of migrants, Rep. John Katko, the top Republican on the House Homeland Security Committee, revealed Monday during a trip to the border.

March 15, 2021

Mexican border ‘crisis’ worsens as politicians fight over label

Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, wouldn't call the border situation a crisis two weeks ago. Now, he says, it's reached that point.

March 14, 2021

Migrant border crashers arriving with dramatically higher COVID-19 rates than U.S. population

Migrant families coming across the border are testing positive for the coronavirus at between three and 10 times the rate of the U.S. population, according to a Washington Times survey of jurisdictions that are doing the testing.

March 14, 2021