Kris Kobach, architect of Arizona’s infamous immigration law, Kansas’ Secretary of State, and former senior counsel to the Immigration Reform Law Institute (IRLI), the legal arm of designated hate group, FAIR, is on a roll.
Over the weekend, Kris Kobach went on CNN to tell audiences that a new move by the administration to keep US citizens together with their family was “amnesty,” which those of us in the immigration movement know is just Republican-speak for finding a pathway towards legalization for undocumented immigrations; i.e. real solutions. And while other states join his immigrant crusade by picking up his legislation, adding to it and making it worse (and ruining the economies of Alabama and Georgia), Mitt Romney just today issued a press release highlighting his endorsement by the anti-immigrant ringleader Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R). From the press release:
“I’m so proud to earn Kris’s support,” said Mitt Romney. “Kris has been a true leader on securing our borders and stopping the flow of illegal immigration into this country. We need more conservative leaders like Kris willing to stand up for the rule of law. With Kris on the team, I look forward to working with him to take forceful steps to curtail illegal immigration and to support states like South Carolina and Arizona that are stepping forward to address this problem.”
As my colleague Dara Lind notes:
“Does Mitt know that Kansas isn’t on the border of anything? Seriously, his quote in this release makes it painfully obvious that the ‘securing the borders’ sham is Mitt code for mass deportation.”
Ironically, this comes as the Republican National Committee announces their new Latino outreach effort:
RNC chair @ReincePriebus holding call w media at 2:30 pm ET on RNC expanded latino effort
— Sean Spicer (@seanspicer) January 11, 2012
Given Romney’s ugly anti-immigrant rhetoric, it’s no surprise he’s fully embraced the endorsement of one of the nation’s most vicious and vociferous immigrant-bashers. Mitt might see a short-term primary gain from Kobach’s support, but it’s going to hurt him in the general election. Most Americans have no idea who Kris Kobach is, but immigrants and their families do. This will not be forgotten by those who have felt and seen the consequences of the Kobach approach to immigration first-hand.