Illegal immigration crackdowns popping up across the country have a common thread: a 44-year-old constitutional law professor and former Bush administration attorney who crafted the legal framework behind Arizona's controversial immigration law.
| What odds he will one day be nominated for the U.S. Supreme Court? I know, I know, but a girl can dream for all of that. |
Kris Kobach has become a sought-after figure for states and cities looking to replicate tough immigration statutes similar to Arizona's new law, which gives unprecedented power to local police in questioning and detaining individuals they suspect are in the country illegally.
Kobach was the legal architect behind Arizona's SB 1070, which is being challenged by the Obama administration. With that combination of cachet and infamy, he's become the go-to guy for crafters of copycat laws, and he is putting his mark on legislation across the country, most recently in Fremont, Nebraska.
"I've been in touch with state representatives in Kansas, Nebraska, Missouri, Alabama and Idaho," Kobach said in an interview with FoxNews.com.
Kobach, of Kansas City, Missouri, has paved a formidable path for himself in legal and political circles, positioning himself as a rising star within the Republican Party. He has at the same time attracted a host of critics, from lawmakers to civil libertarians who say his work promotes racial profiling.
| "Who say"... But it certainly does promote profiling behaviour. Were I an illegal stopped by the police in a community with such laws, I'd feel very nervous indeed, which generally show up in behaviour. |
Kobach's crusade against illegal immigration began when he was working for the Justice Department under Attorney General John Ashcroft in the days following the Sept. 11 attacks. Kobach helped create the "National Security Entry-Exit Registration System," which required immigration officials to fingerprint and question more than 80,000 male visitors, most of whom were from Muslim countries. None was ever charged with terrorist activity, however, and the program was eventually cancelled.
| That's because as soon as the program was announced Muslim males started leaving the country, often enough taking their families with them. I remember NPR reporting indignantly about the near-traffic jams at major airports and border crossings to Canada. |
After leaving the White House in 2003, the Harvard and Yale-educated attorney went on to assist local governments around the country on various immigration statutes, taking him from Hazleton, Pennsylvania, to Valley Park, Missouri, to Farmers Branch, Texas.
| The Hazleton statute has been struck down as unconstitutional, which ruling Hazleton is appealing. In the meantime, about half of the estimated 10,000 illegal aliens have moved away, and illegal-related businesses have closed. |
But perhaps in no other place is his legal influence greater than in Arizona.
In 2006, Kobach successfully defended an Arizona law that made immigrant smuggling a state crime. In 2007, Arizona State Sen. Russell Pearce, the author of SB 1070, contacted him for assistance in drafting the Legal Arizona Workers Act, which ensures that no business in Arizona knowingly hires or employs illegal immigrants. His legal triumphs in defending the two statutes led to state officials recruiting his help in crafting SB 1070.
Aside from his legislative work, Kobach has also represented U.S. citizens as plaintiffs trying to prevent states from giving in-state tuition rates to illegal immigrants. |