Stephen Dinan

Trump’s new era of immigration enforcement begins

With 10 quick signatures on Monday, newly inaugurated President Trump sought to demolish the Biden administration's immigration framework and launch what promises to be the stiffest border in U.S. history.

January 20, 2025

Senate passes Laken Riley Act to detain more illegal immigrants

Senators on Monday approved the first major immigration crackdown of the new Trump administration by passing the Laken Riley Act, which will push the federal government to detain and deport illegal migrants who commit even minor crimes such as shoplifting.

January 20, 2025

Joyless luck club: Kamala Harris faces uncertain future as VP term ends

As she departed government on Monday, former Vice President Kamala Harris found herself staring at a grim political future.

January 20, 2025

Trump calls border chaos an ‘invasion’

President Trump labeled the border situation an "invasion" on Monday and said he will respond with a new national emergency declaration that will attempt to block all unauthorized entries.

January 20, 2025

Trump to deploy military to southern border, block asylum claims, end birthright citizenship

President-elect Donald Trump will rewrite America's immigration system with a series of 10 executive actions Monday deploying the military to the border, directing completion of his wall, ending birthright citizenship and declaring cartels to be terrorist organizations.

January 20, 2025

TikTok thanks Trump, restarts service after ban briefly takes effect on Sunday

TikTok thanked President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday for promising to suspend a ban on the Chinese-owned social media platform, as it began restoring service to millions of U.S. users who had been bereft of the popular app for several hours.

January 19, 2025

Feds slap 5-year ban on funding for EcoHealth; firm funded Chinese virus lab

The Biden administration slapped a five-year ban on federal research funding going to EcoHealth Alliance, a firm that sent U.S. taxpayer dollars to the Chinese virus lab at the center of speculation about the origins of the coronavirus.

January 18, 2025

TikTok blames Biden White House, Justice Dept. for being ‘forced to go dark’

TikTok blamed President Biden and his Justice Department Friday for forcing the popular social media platform to go dark on Sunday.

January 17, 2025

Appeals court rules DACA illegal, stays decision to allow Supreme Court review

A federal appeals court ruled Friday that the Obama-era DACA program that protects hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrant "Dreamers" violates the law -- but the judges allowed the program to remain in effect pending Supreme Court action.

January 17, 2025

Biden’s DOJ rushes to file Jan. 6 cases ahead of Trump’s inauguration, promised pardons

President-elect Donald Trump's plans to pardon Jan. 6 protesters have done little to slow the FBI and federal prosecutors, who continue to make arrests and pursue hefty sentences for those who breached the U.S. Capitol grounds more than four years ago.

January 17, 2025

Noem says Trump will revive ‘Remain in Mexico’ border policy

Kristi Noem, the nominee to lead the Department of Homeland Security, called the U.S. southern border a 'war zone' and said her chief mission at the helm of the department would be to get a handle on the immigration crisis.

January 17, 2025

National Archives rebuffs Biden’s attempt to add Equal Rights Amendment to Constitution

The National Archives poured cold water Friday on President Biden's declaration that the Equal Rights Amendment is now part of the Constitution, saying courts and Mr. Biden's own Justice Department have rejected that notion.

January 17, 2025

Senate clears final filibuster on Laken Riley Act; bill would deport criminal migrants

Senators on Thursday cleared the final filibuster test for the Laken Riley Act, setting up a final vote on legislation that would push the administration to detain and try to deport even lower-level criminal migrants.

January 17, 2025

Biden says Equal Rights Amendment is law, but is it?

President Biden has declared the Equal Rights Amendment to be officially ratified, saying it should be considered the 28th Amendment to the Constitution.

January 17, 2025

Supreme Court upholds law forcing sale or closure of TikTok

The Supreme Court on Friday upheld a law requiring the sale or closure of TikTok, as the justices rejected the social media platform's First Amendment claims and a plea from President-elect Donald Trump.

January 17, 2025

‘Santo Mayorkas’: DHS secretary’s final tally tops $3 billion in extra vacation time for employees

Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas blessed his employees with another three days of taxpayer-funded vacation time, bringing his four-year total to more than six weeks -- the equivalent of $3 billion -- of bonus time off.

January 16, 2025

Migrant who cast ballots in presidential elections gets 5 years behind bars

An illegal immigrant who used a stolen identity to get a U.S. passport, plus registered and voted in American elections, has been sentenced to five years in prison.

January 16, 2025

House approves bill to stiffen deportation rules for migrant sex offenders

The House passed its second major immigration crackdown bill of the year on Thursday, approving legislation that expands the grounds for deporting migrants who commit sex offenses.

January 16, 2025

House chairman drafts bill to get federal workers back in the office

House Oversight Chairman James Comer announced new legislation Thursday to force the federal government to shut down its generous pandemic-era telework policies and get workers back into their offices.

January 16, 2025

Cashing in from afar: Federal employees in for big workplace change

One federal Interior Department employee who is supposed to be working in the D.C. area actually lives in sunny southern California and rarely, if ever, makes it to Washington.

January 15, 2025