Kobach: ‘Idaho is going to fall somewhere on the spectrum’

Kris Kobach, a law professor and former counsel to then-Attorney General John Ashcroft, told the Senate State Affairs Committee that there are eight areas of the law within which states can constitutionally take action against illegal immigration, and Arizona is the state that’s done the most within those areas, whereas California has done the least. The consequences, Kobach said, are clear in “California’s budget situation … a huge percentage of that budget is attributable directly or indirectly to … illegal immigrants.”

Sen. Bart Davis, R-Idaho Falls, then asked Kobach, “Are you suggesting to us that because of the actions the state of Arizona has taken, that consequently they’re in solvent fiscal shape?” “Well, no,” Kobach responded, noting that there are other factors at play in states’ fiscal situations as well. Arizona is the state that this year sold its state Capitol and an array of other state buildings through a lease-back deal designed to generate cash to cope with its budget crisis.

Kobach said he merely was making the point that there’s a spectrum of states on action against illegal immigration. “Idaho is going to fall somewhere on the spectrum, and whether you choose to pass this or not is up to you,” he said.

He also said he assisted Arizona in drafting and then defending a state law requiring all employers to use the e-Verify system to verify employees’ immigration status, and helped that state successfully defend the law in federal court. SB 1303 would make use of that system mandatory for Idaho employers.