Editorials by Kris Kobach
The Washington Post
July 13, 2011
Voter photo ID laws are good protection against fraud
A Post editorial last month criticized Kansas’s Secure and Fair Elections Act, which was drafted by my office. The act requires that voters present photo identification when they vote in person, that absentee voters present full driver’s license numbers and have their signatures verified, and that voters present proof of citizenship at the time of registration. More...
National Review
July 4, 2011
Law and Border
New bill hobbles border states
On May 26, for the first time in 35 years, the United States Supreme Court issued an opinion on whether states may take action to stop illegal immigration. In Chamber of Commerce v. Whiting, the Supreme Court upheld the Legal Arizona Workers Act of 2007 against multiple challenges claiming that it was preempted by federal law. More...
The New York Post
June 15, 2011
Another Amnesty?
New bill hobbles border states
On Tuesday, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-TX) introduced a bill (HR 2164) to require nationwide use of the E-Verify system, which checks a job applicant's citizenship and immigration status, via the Internet, to see if he or she is eligible to work. More...
The Wall Street Journal
May 23, 2011
The Case for Voter ID
On Thursday, the Wisconsin legislature sent a bill requiring photographic identification for voting to Gov. Scott Walker's desk. This follows the enactment of an even stricter law in Kansas a few weeks ago.
More...
Wichita Eagle Beacon
February 22, 2011
Repealing tuition law isn't 'mean-spirited'
An Eagle editorial supported in-state tuition rates for illegal aliens at Kansas colleges and criticized my support for Kansas House Bill 2006, which would end this subsidy for illegal aliens in Kansas ("No tuition law repeal," Feb. 17 Opinion).
The editorial called the bill "mean-spirited." The editorial board seems to think that Kansas taxpayers have a duty to subsidize the college education of illegal aliens. Like so many on the left, the editorial board seems to think that public benefits grow on trees.
The editorial didn't mention that, according to official state calculations, Kansas taxpayers are spending $1.1 million a year to support the college education of the 413 illegal aliens receiving this tuition break. Every in-state tuition recipient gets a massive subsidy. At Kansas State University, that subsidy is worth up to $40,000 over the course of a four-year degree.
More...
Wichita Eagle Beacon
December 2, 2010
Unwise to let illegal aliens pay in-state tuition
The Eagle editorial board urged me to give up my fight to stop states from providing in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens (Nov. 26 Eagle Editorial). Ten states are violating federal law by providing this benefit to illegal aliens. I am representing U.S. citizens in pending lawsuits challenging this practice in California and Nebraska, and I have urged the Kansas Legislature to stop giving in-state tuition rates to illegal aliens. More...
New York Post
July 20, 2010
'Sanctuary' is lawless and deadly
The Justice Department's tolerance of sanctuary cities is not only lawless, it is dangerous. Cities that adopt sanctuary policies make themselves havens for alien crime networks. Thus, violent illegal-alien gangs like Mara Salvatrucha 13 prefer to operate in cities where the police can't report them to Immigration and Customs Enforcement. More...
National Review
June 7, 2010
Defending Arizona
Its Statute Will Withstand the Inevitable - and Already Begun - Challenges In Court
A law that basically makes a few small, carefully considered changes in police procedure, Arizona's S.B. 1070, has inspired a vastly disproportionate response. More...
LA Times
May 13, 2010
Kobach Interviewed: A Voice For Tough Immigration Laws
Kris Kobach, who helped write Arizona's legislation, is the go-to guy in the movement. More...
New York Times
April 29, 2010
Why Arizona Drew a Line
On Friday, Gov. Jan Brewer of Arizona signed a law - SB 1070 - that prohibits the harboring of illegal aliens and makes it a state crime for an alien to commit certain federal immigration crimes. It also requires police officers who, in the course of a traffic stop or other law-enforcement action, come to a "reasonable suspicion" that a person is an illegal alien verify the person's immigration status with the federal government. More...
New York Post
April 15, 2010
Amnesty Poison Pill
...the best way to build a constituency is to extend its benefits to as many people as possible. By setting aside the public-charge doctrine and allowing newly legalized aliens to become eligible for ObamaCare immediately, the amnesty would create 10.8 million new ObamaCare constituents, dependent upon Uncle Sam for free health care. More...
New York Post
November 21, 2009
KSM trial: it's Obama's call
President Obama has said it was Attorney General Eric Holder who decided to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed, the self-proclaimed 9/11 mastermind, and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees in civilian federal court in New York City. Yet, as a matter of law, that can't be true. More...
New York Post
November 14, 2009
A Loss For America
Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to try Khalid Sheik Mohammed and four other Guantanamo Bay detainees in civilian federal court in New York City is the latest in a long series of missteps in the war against radical Islamist terrorism. More...
New York Post
September 19, 2009
The Truth on Covering Illegals
The House of Representatives has rebuked Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) for shouting out, "You lie!" during President Obama's speech to Congress last week. It was certainly a breach of decorum and House rules -- but it's well worth noting that Wilson had a substantial point....Until the bill is amended and SAVE verification is required, Wilson will be right and Obama will be wrong. More...
The Wichita Eagle Beacon
March 3, 2009
Budget Woes Linked to How Justices Are Chosen
Twenty-two states use some form of nominating commission. But Kansas has the most extreme version in the country. Only Kansas gives its lawyers the power to select a majority of the commission's members. This creates an institutional bias that favors more power for courts and more profit for attorneys. Moreover, the commission makes its decisions behind closed doors without any accountability to the public. More...
New York Post
February 13, 2008
The Immigration Answer
To have any hope of reducing the number of illegals in this country, our next president must aim for attrition via enforcement. By requiring every US employer in the country to use E-Verify, and significantly ratcheting up enforcement (against all illegals), it is possible solve America's illegal-immigration problem. More...
The Heritage Foundation
September 13, 2007
A Sleeper Amnesty: Time to Wake Up from the DREAM Act
In addition to being a dream for those who have broken the law, the DREAM Act raises an even larger issue regarding the relationship between states and the federal government. The 10 states have created a 21st century version of the nullification movement - defying federal law simply because they do not like it. In so doing, they have challenged the basic structure of the republic. The DREAM Act would pardon this offense and, in so doing, encourage states to defy other federal law in the future. More...
Human Events
August 6, 2007
A Judicial Setback for the Rule of Law
This situation makes it painfully clear that returning the rule of law to immigration will take more than a committed Congress and a President who is determined to enforce the law. It will also take judges who are willing to faithfully apply the laws that Congress passes and cities that are willing to reinforce, not undermine, federal law. More...
The Washington Times
July 3, 2007
A Way Forward on Immigration
The Senate's comprehensive immigration bill died an inevitable death. It was inevitable because it included so many provisions that unjustly rewarded illegal behavior. If the Senate hadn't killed the bill, the House certainly would have. More...
The Heritage Foundation
June 26, 2007
The Senate Amnesty Bill: A Muddled Legal Morass
Aside from the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens who would receive amnesty, the biggest beneficiaries of this legal morass are the immigration lawyers who would bill millions of dollars representing their clients as the cases drag on. That is not entirely surprising, because the American Immigration Lawyers Association reportedly played a central role in drafting the Senate bill. It is also a natural consequence when a bill is drafted behind closed doors and shielded from the normal process of committee scrutiny. More...
The Washington Times
June 22, 2007
A College Education For Illegal Aliens
It's no secret that the Senate immigration bill rewards 12-20 million illegal aliens with immediate amnesty. What is less well known is that the bill also allows illegal aliens to receive in-state tuition rates at public universities, discriminating against U.S. citizens from out of state and law-abiding foreign students. More...
The Heritage Foundation
June 19, 2007
The Senate Immigration Bill: A National Security Nightmare
Supporters of the Senate's comprehensive immigration reform bill have revived it under the guise of national security. However, the new public relations campaign is a farce. The bill offers alien terrorists new pathways to obtain legal status, which will make it easier for them to carry out deadly attacks against American citizens. More...
The Washington Times
June 7, 2007
A Wake-up Call For The Senate
The revelation of the terrorist plot to bomb JFK Airport should be a jolting wake-up call to the U.S. Senate -- a reminder that...it is undeniable that our immigration policy is a central facet of our anti-terrorism policy. Virtually all of the terrorists targeting this country are aliens who need to be in the United States to carry out their attacks. Twenty-four hours simply isn't enough time. It's a terrorist fast track. Consequently, dozens of terrorists will receive amnesty if the bill becomes law. More...
New York Post
May 27, 2007
RX For Breakdown
How Immigration Bill Overloads Bureaucracy & Endangers Security
The Immigration bill now before the Senate would triple the workload at the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services - an agency that the Government Accountability Office says is already at the breaking point. More...
The Heritage Foundation
May 23, 2007
Rewarding Illegal Aliens: Senate Bill Undermines The Rule of Law
The Senate's "Z" visa proposal would undermine the rule of law by granting massive benefits to those who have willfully violated U.S. laws, while denying those benefits to those who have played by the rules and sometimes even to U.S. citizens. More...
New York Post
May 21, 2007
Rewarding Lawbreakers
The immigration bill set to hit the Senate floor this week will legalize most of the 12 million to 20 million illegal aliens now in the country via a new "Z visa." But provisions buried in the fine print of the more than 300 pages are far more outrageous. More...
