1/ For years, Kris Kobach, a lawyer and now a candidate for Kansas gov., was hired to defend anti-immigration ordinances for small towns.
But here’s the thing: millions of dollars later, none of the towns are currently enforcing any of those laws. propub.li/2KnE8d8
But here’s the thing: millions of dollars later, none of the towns are currently enforcing any of those laws. propub.li/2KnE8d8
2/ A former mayor characterized Kobach’s attitude as,“Let’s find a town that’s got some issues or pretends to have some issues, let’s drum up an immigration problem and maybe I can advance my political position, my political thinking and maybe make some money at the same time.”
3/ Kobach said that the issue is one he believes in, part of a longstanding mission.
Here’s what one mayor told local paper Riverfront Times in 2006 about his town’s Hispanic population, which had recently increased by about 50 people.
Here’s what one mayor told local paper Riverfront Times in 2006 about his town’s Hispanic population, which had recently increased by about 50 people.
4/ That’s where Kobach came in. He helped Valley Park, Mo. defend an ordinance that would require employers to verify the citizenship of all employees and for landlords to do the same for renters.
5/ The towns spent hundreds of thousands of dollars or more defending the laws only to lose in court repeatedly. Meanwhile Kobach’s star rose and he made money on legal fees. Here’s how much the litigation has cost and how much Kobach has earned:
6/ In Valley Park, Kobach rewrote the ordinance during litigation (which was also expensive), and the measure was narrowed to prohibit knowingly hiring illegal immigrants — something that was already banned by federal law.
Kobach says the case was a victory.
Kobach says the case was a victory.
7/ When Kobach’s Farmers Branch, Texas law was challenged, the city hired an expensive Dallas law firm, which then hired Kobach.
8/ Hazleton, Penn. took on debt to pay its legal fees and eventually had to file for a state bailout after having to pay $1.4 million to the @ACLU. (The city denies the payment caused the need for a bailout.)
@ACLU 9/ Fremont, Neb. continues to retain Kobach, at a cost of $10,000 a year, in case new litigation arises.
@ACLU 10/ Kobach has lost six out of eight lawsuits against the ACLU, yet this was how he was introduced on his (now defunct) talk radio show:
@ACLU 11/ Kobach says he warned cities about the cost of litigation. “The elected representatives of the people made a decision with full awareness that fighting the ACLU costs money, that yeah, it was worth it to fight the ACLU and worth it to get these ordinances in place,” he said.
@ACLU 12/12 Read the full story here: propub.li/2KnE8d8
