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Articles by Stephen Dinan

"Dreamers," people brought to the U.S. illegally as children, and other supporters of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program, listen as lawmakers speak at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2018. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

House GOP offers get-tough approach to DACA debate

Key House Republicans announced a new DACA-fix bill Wednesday that offers some of the strictest enforcement provisions on the table, saying any new legal status for Dreamers must be coupled with a crackdown on sanctuary cities and new workforce checks to stop businesses from hiring illegal immigrants.

January 10, 2018
A supporter of President Donald Trump challenges police officers and a Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program during a rally outside the office of California Democratic Sen. Dianne Feinstein in Los Angeles, Wednesday, Jan. 3, 2018. (AP Photo/Reed Saxon) ** FILE **

White House, Dems say judge’s shock ruling won’t derail DACA talks

A federal judge's shock ruling ordering President Trump to reinstate the Obama-era DACA deportation amnesty shook the immigration debate Wednesday, erasing the Jan. 19 deadline Democrats had insisted on for action -- though all sides said they still want to get a deal done soon.

January 10, 2018
President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with lawmakers on immigration policy in the Cabinet Room of the White House, Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Donald Trump endorses return to earmarks

President Trump urged Congress on Tuesday to consider returning to the practice of earmarks, saying pork-barrel spending might be the only way to get Republicans and Democrats to cooperate in Washington.

January 9, 2018
CASA de Maryland, an immigration advocacy and assistance organization, holds a rally in Lafayette Park, across from the White House in Washington, Monday, Jan. 8, 2018, in reaction to the announcement regarding Temporary Protective Status for people from El Salvador. The Trump administration is ending special protections for Salvadoran immigrants, forcing nearly 200,000 to leave the U.S. by September 2019 or face deportation. El Salvador is the fourth country whose citizens have lost Temporary Protected Status under President Donald Trump, and they have been, by far, the largest beneficiaries of the program, which provides humanitarian relief for foreigners whose countries are hit with natural disasters or other strife. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Illegal immigration up again in December

Illegal immigration at the southwest border ticked up again in December, according to the latest numbers released Tuesday that showed an increasing flow of people showing up at the ports of entry demanding to be admitted.

January 9, 2018
Former Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced Tuesday, Jan. 9, 2018, that he plans to run for the U.S. Senate seat now held by Republican Jeff Flake. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin, File)

Joe Arpaio to run for Senate in Arizona

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio announced Tuesday he will run for Arizona's Senate seat as an unabashedly pro-Trump candidate, inflaming what was already one of the hottest races in the country.

January 9, 2018
House Speaker Paul Ryan, R-Wis., speaks in his office just after final approval of the Republican rewrite of the tax code, during an interview with The Associated Press at the Capitol in Washington, Tuesday, Dec. 19, 2017. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite) ** FILE **

Paul Ryan confirms GOP talking about earmark revival

House Speaker Paul D. Ryan confirmed Tuesday that his troops are beginning a conversation about restoring the practice of earmark spending -- though he said they were just conversations at this point.

January 9, 2018
President Donald Trump, accompanied by Secretary of Homeland Security Kirstjen Nielsen, speaks during a meeting with Republican senators on immigration in the Roosevelt Room at the White House in Washington on  Jan. 4, 2018. (Associated Press) **FILE**

DHS announces end to special status for 200,000 Salvadorans

The Trump administration will end a special protected status for about 200,000 would-be illegal immigrants from El Salvador who have been living here since 2001 -- though they'll have an 18-month grace period to get their affairs in order, officials announced Monday.

January 8, 2018
Rep. John Culberson, Texas Republican, said, "The time is right" to consider a return to earmarks. He is pushing for a test run so Congress can prove it can be responsible. (Associated Press/File)

House Republicans reconsider earmarks

House Republicans are about to take the first steps to revive earmarks, with officials planning to hold hearings early this year to look at how they might ease back into the practice, The Washington Times has learned, as a growing number of lawmakers think they have surrendered too much power by forgoing them.

January 7, 2018
Border agents searching cellphones and other electronics without warrants has raised privacy concerns among civil liberties groups and privacy advocates. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

DHS cellphone border searches jumped 50 percent in 2017

Border officials searching travelers' electronic devices cannot use them to get at information stored in the cloud, U.S. Customs and Border Protection said in a new policy Friday that puts some firm limits on the extent of border searches.

January 5, 2018
Money transfer services allow Salvadorans and others under temporary protected status to send remittances, adding greatly to the gross domestic product of their home countries. (Associated Press/File)

TSP immigrant remittances boost GDP in Central America

Salvadorans living in the U.S. are, by most accounts, devoted workers with high workforce participation rates and better-than-average education levels compared with their countrymen still living in El Salvador.

January 4, 2018