The morning he was due in federal court to give a deposition in an ongoing voter registration case, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach tweeted his support for President Trump’s proposal to curb legal immigration.
Trump announced Tuesday a plan to limit legal immigration to highly skilled workers able to pay their own way. Kobach, who is the vice chair of a White House commission on election integrity, praised the president for placing the interests of Americans ahead of “the aliens.”
Kobach insists that 3.2 million illegal ballots were cast in November but has not produced any evidence to support his claim.
His involvement with the Trump administration has gotten him into some trouble back home in Kansas. The secretary of state is locked in a legal battle with the ACLU over so-called “motor voters” asked to provide proof of citizenship when they register to vote at the DMV.
The National Voter Registration Act allows people to register to vote when they apply for a driver’s license. The ACLU says Kobach has directed Kansans to provide proof of citizenship when they register, in violation of the NVRA.
In photos of Kobach meeting with Trump last December, he appears to be holding papers outlining plans to gut the NVRA. A judge fined Kobach $1,000 for misleading the court about the nature of the documents and ordered him to turn them over to the plaintiffs. The documents remain under seal.
On Wednesday, Kobach filed an emergency motion to stay his deposition. A federal appeals court denied his request.
Outside the federal courthouse in Kansas City, Kansas, Thursday morning, three aides waiting by an SUV with a Kobach bumper sticker informed KCUR that the secretary of state would have “no comment” about the case.
Elle Moxley covers schools and politics for KCUR. You can reach her on Twitter @ellemoxley.
