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Articles by Stephen Dinan

In this Oct. 19, 2017, file photo, homes in the Cantera area are covered with FEMA tarps, where buildings from the Hato Rey area stand in the background in San Juan, Puerto Rico. (AP Photo/Carlos Giusti, File)

Puerto Rico warns Trump over emergency funds for wall

Puerto Rico Gov. Ricardo Rossello blasted the administration Friday over reports that President Trump would take emergency funds aimed at rebuilding California, Texas and Puerto Rico and use them to build his border wall.

January 11, 2019
U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., speaks with reporters prior to the Friends of Mississippi Civil Rights gala Friday, Feb. 23, 2018, in Jackson, Miss., where he was one of five civil rights veterans honored. (AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis) **FILE**

Dem chairman rules out ‘Abolish ICE’

House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie G. Thompson flatly ruled out any efforts to abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying that while the agency may need a "tweak," he supports its mission.

January 11, 2019
Vice President Mike Pence and counselor to the President Kellyanne Conway leave Pence's office off the Senate floor in the Capitol building, Thursday, Jan. 10, 2019, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

Mike Pence: ‘No wall, there’s no deal’

Vice President Mike Pence said Thursday that the administration is willing to negotiate on parts of the shutdown showdown, but he said there will have to be some money for border barriers.

January 10, 2019
This March 30, 2017, photo shows a portion of the new steel border fence that stretches along the US-Mexico border in Sunland Park, N.M. The Trump administration has proposed spending $18 billion over 10 years to significantly extend the border wall with Mexico. The plan provides one of the most detailed blueprints of how the president hopes to carry out a signature campaign pledge. (AP Photo/Rodrigo Abd) **FILE**

Border agents: Steel fence not impenetrable but still needed

The steel bollard border fence President Trump is now talking about building is not impenetrable, but it is the best design available and will slow down immigrants who are trying to cross the border illegally, border agents say.

January 10, 2019
A migrant from Honduras pass a child to her father after he jumped the border fence to get into the U.S. side to San Diego, Calif., from Tijuana, Mexico, Thursday, Jan. 3, 2019. Discouraged by the long wait to apply for asylum through official ports of entry, many migrants from recent caravans are choosing to cross the U.S. border wall and hand themselves in to border patrol agents. (AP Photo/Daniel Ochoa de Olza)

Families set new record for illegal immigration

Illegal immigration across the Southwest border ticked down in December, though the number of migrant families shattered records with nearly 32,000 caught trying to jump the border, officials said Wednesday.

January 9, 2019
In this Monday, June 4, 2018 photo, reviewed by U.S. military officials, a Coast Guard man stands on a jetty at the Guantanamo Bay U.S. Naval Base, Cuba. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa) **FILE**

Former top Gitmo officer indicted for obstruction of justice

Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced the indictment of the former commanding officer at the U.S. base at Guantanamo Bay, accusing him of covering up the death of a civilian who thought the officer was having an affair with his wife.

January 9, 2019