Stephen Dinan

99.5% of illegal immigrants get approval for legal status; high number raises concerns about fraud

The administration has approved 99.5 percent of applications of those who have applied for legal status under President Obama's nondeportation policy for young adults, granting legal status to more than 250,000 formerly illegal immigrants.

April 22, 2013

Immigration officer: Congress heeded illegal immigrants, not law enforcement

The chief of the union representing immigration agents and officers said Monday that senators listened to illegal immigrants and those who stand to earn millions of dollars from an amnesty, but refused to listen to the government's own law enforcement agents.

April 22, 2013

Rand Paul: Stop immigration bill until we understand Boston

Sen. Rand Paul said Monday that the immigration reform debate should be halted until Congress first understands what went wrong in Boston, where two brothers who came to the U.S. legally under the asylum program have been accused of the deadly bombings at last week's marathon.

April 22, 2013

Boston bomb case’s findings may delay Senate immigration legislation

The authors of the Senate immigration bill are mounting a campaign to try to make sure the Boston Marathon bombings last week don't derail their push to overhaul the U.S. immigration system, saying the problems lie more with the FBI than with legal immigration.

April 21, 2013

Boston bombing drama hits immigration debate

The uncle of the two suspects in the Boston Marathon bombing said Friday that they were born in Kyrgyzstan and came to the U.S. in 2003 on claims of asylum — news that's already beginning to reverberate in the immigration debate just beginning on Capitol Hill.

April 19, 2013

Obama’s immigrant deportation numbers tell different stories in interior, on border

The Obama administration has set records for deportations, but the types of immigrants it is kicking out of the country has changed dramatically over the past four years, according to numbers the Homeland Security Department has had to turn over as part of a pending court case.

April 18, 2013

Obama told to step aside on reforming immigration; it’s Congress’ turn, key Democrat says

Rep. Luis V. Gutierrez said Thursday that President Obama squandered his chance to take the lead on immigration, and said the best role the president can play now is to cheer along the progress in Congress and try to rally support outside the Capitol.

April 18, 2013

Bill offers deported illegals a pathway to citizenship, seeks balance for workers, families

The Senate immigration bill would grant a pathway to citizenship to some illegal immigrants who have been deported from the country a provision that gets at the heart of the debate over family unification versus fairness to those waiting legally at home.

April 17, 2013

Napolitano: Bill could spark new wave of illegal immigrants

The new immigration bill would only grant a pathway to citizenship to illegal immigrants who made it into the U.S. before 2012 — a date that Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said Wednesday should be widely publicized in order to stop a new wave of illegal border crossers.

April 17, 2013

Immigration bill bans racial profiling by federal law enforcement

The immigration bill senators introduced Wednesday bans racial profiling by federal law enforcement officers in most routine encounters, such as traffic stops.

April 17, 2013

Senators put final touches on plan for immigration; border security is key element

After months of negotiations, the Gang of Eight senators were poised to file their immigration bill late Tuesday evening, striking a deal to immediately legalize most illegal immigrants and ease the path for future legal immigrants in exchange for promises of much stiffer border security, backed up by verifiable yardsticks.

April 16, 2013

Park Service chief: Sequester cut signs should come down

The head of the National Park Service said Tuesday that parks should take down any signs blaming service cuts on the budget sequesters, saying he thought that was inappropriate.

April 16, 2013

Allowing illegal immigrants to stay gains support, led by Republicans

When lawmakers announce a broad immigration bill this week, they hope to take advantage of a marked shift in the way Americans see illegal immigration, with more voters willing to embrace legalization as a solution.

April 15, 2013

Immigration draft lays out contentious points plan to reward, select immigrants

The immigration reform bill that senators are writing in secret would move U.S. policy to a points-based system that would reward immigrants who are taking care of disabled parents at the same level as those who have earned master's degrees in high-tech fields, according to a draft of the legislation reviewed by The Washington Times.

April 14, 2013

Congress votes to shield top officials’ financial disclosures

Congress this week approved a bill to free thousands of federal government employees from having to disclose their financial dealings online, rushing the bill through the Senate late Thursday and through the House on Friday. But the push to undo the online reporting requirement is proving to be controversial.

April 12, 2013

Obama’s budget a blow to immigrant enforcers; funding cut for detentions, states

President Obama's budget would rewrite the federal government's interior immigration enforcement priorities, cutting funding for states that try to help enforce immigration laws and scaling back the number of immigrants the federal government will detain while they await deportation.

April 11, 2013

Emails a focus of EPA hearing

President Obama's pick to be the next chief of the Environmental Protection Agency told Congress on Thursday that she never has used private emails or instant-messaging to try to avoid open-records laws, and promised to crack down on those within the agency who do.

April 11, 2013

Congress investigates DHS ammo purchase

The chairman of the key House subcommittee that controls the Homeland Security Department's budget asked Secretary Janet Napolitano on Thursday to justify why the department has made major ammunition purchases in recent months, saying it's time to put rumors to rest.

April 11, 2013

Budget buffet: Obama moves to take horse meat off the menu

Buried inside President Obama's budget this week is a demand that Congress stop inspections of horse meat slaughter plants — a move that would halt the industry, just as it's poised to ramp up again.

April 11, 2013

Immigration activists say it’s time to deliver; thousands rally in D.C.

Thousands of immigrant rights activists rallied on the lawn in front of Capitol Hill on Wednesday, saying Hispanic voters delivered for President Obama last year and now want to cash in on his promise to legalize many of the estimated 11 million in the U.S. illegally.

April 10, 2013