In 2018, Kansas taxpayers were on the hook for fees and costs from Kobach’s failed challenge against Kansas’ proof-of-citizenship in voting law. Kobach’s loss in the case incurred attorneys fees and potential additional fines for contempt of court after failing to comply with court orders. In handing down the “sweeping defeat,” the judge also ordered Kobach to take a legal education course after repeatedly botching courtroom procedure.
Through his services advising the State of Arizona and several local governments on anti-immigration laws, Kobach lined his pockets and “ran up an estimated $6.6 million in fees for his efforts” at the expense of taxpayers. Kobach advised Joe Arpaio and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office on enforcement of federal immigration law, which cost taxpayers more than $90 million. Kobach’s legal work for local governments on immigration resulted in millions in legal fees and costs and prompted some localities to either raise taxes or cut services.
2018: Kansas Taxpayers Were On The Hook For Fees And Costs From Kobach’s Failed Challenge On Voter Rights As Secretary Of State. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kansas lawmakers have abandoned an effort to force Secretary of State Kris Kobach to pay out of his own pocket the costs of being held in contempt of court. The decision ended a looming showdown between Kobach and the Legislature over who is on the hook financially. Kobach was dressed down by a federal judge during a civil trial over voter rights and ordered to pay attorney fees for the plaintiffs in the case. The Legislature's decision to drop the effort means Kobach will be able to use state money to pay any fines stemming from being found in contempt. During negotiations over the state budget, lawmakers on Tuesday removed a prohibition on using state money to pay for contempt fines or defend himself against contempt. The House had approved the rule last week.” [Kansas City Star, 5/1/18]
Kobach’s Loss In 2018 Voter Right Case Incurred Attorneys Fees And Potential Additional Fines For Contempt Of Court Charge, And Kobach’s Office Said He Planned To Appeal The Ruling. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kansas lawmakers have abandoned an effort to force Secretary of State Kris Kobach to pay out of his own pocket the costs of being held in contempt of court. The decision ended a looming showdown between Kobach and the Legislature over who is on the hook financially. Kobach was dressed down by a federal judge during a civil trial over voter rights and ordered to pay attorney fees for the plaintiffs in the case. The Legislature's decision to drop the effort means Kobach will be able to use state money to pay any fines stemming from being found in contempt. During negotiations over the state budget, lawmakers on Tuesday removed a prohibition on using state money to pay for contempt fines or defend himself against contempt. The House had approved the rule last week. […] Judge Julie Robinson found Kobach in contempt in April. In addition to attorney fees, he could face additional fines after the judge makes her final ruling in the overall case. Kobach's office has said that it plans to appeal the contempt order.” [Kansas City Star, 5/1/18]
April 2018: Judge Found Kobach In Contempt Of Court For Failure To Comply With Court Orders In A Case Challenging Kansas’ Proof-Of-Citizenship Law. According to CNN, “A federal judge has found Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in contempt of court for failing to comply with court orders in a case challenging a controversial state proof-of-citizenship voting law. The law, which took effect in 2013, required anyone who registers to vote in the state to provide documentation of US citizenship such as a birth certificate or a passport. It has been challenged by the American Civil Liberties Union, which argued in federal court that the law violated the National Voter Registration Act. In May 2016, the same federal judge that has now found Kobach in contempt of court struck a blow to the law by ruling that Kansas could not require people to show proof of citizenship when registering to vote in certain circumstances. In the ruling handed down on Wednesday, US District Judge Julie Robinson stated that the court found ‘clear and convincing evidence’ that Kobach disobeyed court orders ‘when he failed to ensure that voter registration applications covered by the preliminary injunction order became fully registered.’” [CNN, 4/19/18]
2018: A Federal Judge Handed Kobach A “Sweeping Defeat” And Overturned Kansas’ Law To Require Voters Show Proof Of Citizenship. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kobach’s recent legal struggles have been widely reported. In June, a federal judge handed him a sweeping courtroom defeat, overturning a Kansas law that required proof of citizenship to register to vote. The judge went so far as to order him to attend six hours of continuing legal education after he repeatedly botched basic courtroom procedure. Another recent Kobach endeavor, a federal commission aimed at combating voter fraud, which he co-chaired, shut down after a bevy of lawsuits challenged it.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
Center For American Progress: “Kobach’s Financial Gains Have Been At The Expense Of Cities That Bought Into His Toxic Immigration Formula.” According to the Center for American Progress, “Kobach’s financial gains have been at the expense of cities that bought into his toxic immigration formula, resulting in tax increases, local service cuts, ethnic divisions, and greater levels of fear even among legal residents.” [Center For American Progress, 1/24/11]
Kobach “Traveled The Country” Drafting “Harsh Immigration Enforcement Measures” For Local Governments And Then Signed Up To “Defend The Municipalities In Court.” According to the Center for American Progress, “Alas, for the taxpayers in these communities these local ordinances were passed without leaders’ adherence to basic constitutional rights. Some unlawfully and unfairly place the burden of enforcement on businesses and landlords, harming those who sustain local economies. In most instances, the immigrants, both legal and undocumented, have fled the areas, depleting the local pool of needed foreign-born workers and consumers. The bulk of these cities’ expenses have been legal bills from attorneys representing successful plaintiffs, among them business owners, landlords, residents, clerical leaders, and the American Civil Liberties Union, all of whom sued the city governments, and from the cities’ own lawyers and consultants, namely Kris Kobach. An anti-immigration activist and lawyer, Kobach has traveled the country, from his base in the Midwest to the Southwest and to the Northeast, drafting harsh enforcement measures and then signing up to defend the municipalities in court.” [Center For American Progress, 1/24/11]
Kobach Advised The State Of Arizona And Several Local Governments On Enactment Of Harsh Immigration Laws. According to the Center For American Progress, “His drafts are based on the premise that if businesses and employers are punished for hiring undocumented immigrants or renting housing to them, then the immigrants will effectively be chased out of town. In the process, he has run up an estimated $6.6 million in fees for his efforts, which are affiliated to the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a group tied to the extremist Federation for American Immigration Reform. Kobach has advised Arizona as well as Hazleton, Pennsylvania; Farmers Branch, Texas; and Fremont, Nebraska—roles that are detailed in this paper and in a separate report by the Southern Poverty Law Center. At the start of 2011, Kobach, on behalf of a group of nativist state legislators, also unveiled two proposed state measures that would take away the right to citizenship under the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment from U.S.-born children of undocumented parents.” [Center For American Progress, 1/24/11]
Center For American Progress: Kobach “Has Run Up An Estimated $6.6 Million In Fees For His Efforts.” According to the Center for American Progress, “In the process, he has run up an estimated $6.6 million in fees for his efforts, which are affiliated to the Immigration Reform Law Institute, a group tied to the extremist Federation for American Immigration Reform.” [Center For American Progress, 1/24/11]
Local Governments Incurred Expenses Resulting From Lawsuits And Legal Challenges Of Unconstitutional Anti-Immigration Provisions. According to the Center for American Progress, “Alas, for the taxpayers in these communities these local ordinances were passed without leaders’ adherence to basic constitutional rights. Some unlawfully and unfairly place the burden of enforcement on businesses and landlords, harming those who sustain local economies. In most instances, the immigrants, both legal and undocumented, have fled the areas, depleting the local pool of needed foreign-born workers and consumers. The bulk of these cities’ expenses have been legal bills from attorneys representing successful plaintiffs, among them business owners, landlords, residents, clerical leaders, and the American Civil Liberties Union, all of whom sued the city governments, and from the cities’ own lawyers and consultants, namely Kris Kobach. An anti-immigration activist and lawyer, Kobach has traveled the country, from his base in the Midwest to the Southwest and to the Northeast, drafting harsh enforcement measures and then signing up to defend the municipalities in court.” [Center For American Progress, 1/24/11]
Local Governments Enacted Tax Increases And Service Cuts To Address Large Legal Costs From Anti-Immigrant Laws. According to the Center for American Progress, “Kobach’s financial gains have been at the expense of cities that bought into his toxic immigration formula, resulting in tax increases, local service cuts, ethnic divisions, and greater levels of fear even among legal residents.” [Center For American Progress, 1/24/11]
Kobach Consulted With Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio On Best Practices For Enforcing Federal Immigration Law. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kobach’s profile began to rise with the headlines sparked by the ordinances. Other municipalities called upon his expertise after seeing his name associated with Hazleton. He was even brought in to help Arizona craft SB 1070, the ‘show me your papers’ law, which passed in 2010 before being largely overturned by the Supreme Court. He consulted with Sheriff Joe Arpaio in Maricopa County, Ariz., on best practices for enforcing the law.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
Shortly After 2009, Arpaio Hired Kobach To Train All Of His Deputies On How To Comply With Federal Immigration Law. According to the New York Times, “In 2009, after Barack Obama took office, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded Arpaio’s immigration-enforcement powers. That same year, the Justice Department began an investigation into Arpaio’s ‘discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures.’ Not long after that, Arpaio hired Kobach to train all of his deputies on how to comply with federal immigration law. ‘I really want to applaud what Maricopa County is doing,’ Kobach said in a video for the trainings, calling the county a model for the nation. Despite the federal government’s jurisdiction over immigration, Kobach told Arpaio’s deputies they had ‘inherent authority’ to enforce immigration laws, based on a 2002 memo Kobach had requested from the Justice Department. He listed several of the dozens of federal crimes undocumented immigrants could be arrested for, including ‘failure to carry an alien registration card’ and ‘failure to notify the federal government of a change of address.’” [New York Times, 6/13/17]
Despite The Federal Government’s Authority Over Immigration Law, Kobach Told Arpaio’s Deputies They Had “Inherent Authority” To Enforce Immigration Laws. According to the New York Times, “In 2009, after Barack Obama took office, the Department of Homeland Security rescinded Arpaio’s immigration-enforcement powers. That same year, the Justice Department began an investigation into Arpaio’s ‘discriminatory police practices and unconstitutional searches and seizures.’ Not long after that, Arpaio hired Kobach to train all of his deputies on how to comply with federal immigration law. ‘I really want to applaud what Maricopa County is doing,’ Kobach said in a video for the trainings, calling the county a model for the nation. Despite the federal government’s jurisdiction over immigration, Kobach told Arpaio’s deputies they had ‘inherent authority’ to enforce immigration laws, based on a 2002 memo Kobach had requested from the Justice Department. He listed several of the dozens of federal crimes undocumented immigrants could be arrested for, including ‘failure to carry an alien registration card’ and ‘failure to notify the federal government of a change of address.’” [New York Times, 6/13/17]
2018: Maricopa County Taxpayers Paid Out More Than $90 Million In Legal Fees And Compliance Costs Resulting From Racial Profiling Of Latinos By Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. According to the Arizona Republic, “Maricopa County is budgeting a record amount to carry out Sheriff's Office reforms in the wake of a racial-profiling lawsuit over illegal traffic stops of Latinos under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The county plans to set aside almost $30 million next fiscal year to purchase body cameras, hire personnel, and fund a court monitor in an effort to meet a U.S. District Court judge's orders to rid the agency of discriminatory policing. Five years ago, the county spent $4 million on the effort. […] U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow ordered broad reforms of the agency in 2013 after he found that Arpaio's deputies had singled out Latinos during immigration patrols, often holding them longer than counterparts of different ethnicities. Snow required the county to work with a court monitor who would issue necessary changes and oversee progress. The judge added additional requirements in 2016 after finding Arpaio and three of his aides in civil contempt of court for defying orders. MCSO was 63 percent to 88 percent compliant with the various court orders as of mid-2017, according to Sheriff Paul Penzone, who took office that year. Taxpayers have paid nearly $90 million total in legal fees and compliance costs in the lawsuit formerly known as Melendres vs. Arpaio. Adding the rest of this year's and next year's proposed compliance budget, the figure would rise to roughly $130 million.” [Arizona Republic, 5/22/18]
2013-2016: Court Ordered Sheriff's Office To Implement Reforms Following Racial Profiling Case Which Uncovered Discriminatory Actions By Sheriff’s Deputies In Conducting Immigration Patrols. According to the Arizona Republic, “Maricopa County is budgeting a record amount to carry out Sheriff's Office reforms in the wake of a racial-profiling lawsuit over illegal traffic stops of Latinos under former Sheriff Joe Arpaio. The county plans to set aside almost $30 million next fiscal year to purchase body cameras, hire personnel, and fund a court monitor in an effort to meet a U.S. District Court judge's orders to rid the agency of discriminatory policing. Five years ago, the county spent $4 million on the effort. […] U.S. District Judge G. Murray Snow ordered broad reforms of the agency in 2013 after he found that Arpaio's deputies had singled out Latinos during immigration patrols, often holding them longer than counterparts of different ethnicities. Snow required the county to work with a court monitor who would issue necessary changes and oversee progress. The judge added additional requirements in 2016 after finding Arpaio and three of his aides in civil contempt of court for defying orders. MCSO was 63 percent to 88 percent compliant with the various court orders as of mid-2017, according to Sheriff Paul Penzone, who took office that year. Taxpayers have paid nearly $90 million total in legal fees and compliance costs in the lawsuit formerly known as Melendres vs. Arpaio. Adding the rest of this year's and next year's proposed compliance budget, the figure would rise to roughly $130 million.” [Arizona Republic, 5/22/18]
HEADLINE: “Kobach Promised Cities Help. It Cost Them Millions — And Powered His Political Rise.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
2006: Kobach Worked With Small Missouri Town, Valley Park, To Pass Hard-Line Anti-Immigration Ordinance. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kris Kobach likes to tout his work for Valley Park, Mo. He has boasted on cable TV about crafting and defending the town’s hard-line anti-immigration ordinance. He discussed his ‘victory’ there at length on his old radio show. He still lists it on his resume. But “victory” isn’t the word most Valley Park residents would use to describe the results of Kobach’s work. With his help, the town of 7,000 passed an ordinance in 2006 that punished employers for hiring illegal immigrants and landlords for renting to them. After two years of litigation and nearly $300,000 in expenses, the ordinance was largely gutted. Now, it is illegal only to ‘knowingly’ hire illegal immigrants there — something that was already illegal under federal law. The town’s attorney can’t recall a single case brought under the ordinance.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
After Two Years Of Litigation And Nearly $300,000 In Expenses, The Town’s Ordinance Was Largely Gutted. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kris Kobach likes to tout his work for Valley Park, Mo. He has boasted on cable TV about crafting and defending the town’s hard-line anti-immigration ordinance. He discussed his ‘victory’ there at length on his old radio show. He still lists it on his resume. But “victory” isn’t the word most Valley Park residents would use to describe the results of Kobach’s work. With his help, the town of 7,000 passed an ordinance in 2006 that punished employers for hiring illegal immigrants and landlords for renting to them. After two years of litigation and nearly $300,000 in expenses, the ordinance was largely gutted. Now, it is illegal only to ‘knowingly’ hire illegal immigrants there — something that was already illegal under federal law. The town’s attorney can’t recall a single case brought under the ordinance.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
2007: Kobach Advised Small Town Of Farmers Branch, Texas On Anti-Immigrant Ordinance After The Town Hired Expensive Dallas-Based Litigation Firm, Which Contracted Kobach To Work On The Case And Paid Him Nearly $190,000. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kobach used his work in Valley Park to attract other clients, with sometimes disastrous effects on the municipalities. The towns — some with budgets in the single-digit-millions — ran up hefty legal costs after hiring him to defend similar ordinances. Farmers Branch, Texas, wound up owing $7 million in legal bills. Hazleton, Pa., took on debt to pay $1.4 million and eventually had to file for a state bailout. Fremont, Neb., raised property taxes to pay for Kobach’s services. None of the towns is currently enforcing an ordinance he helped craft. […] Like Hazleton, Farmers Branch also lost in trial court and on appeal. The process took nearly seven years and the city spent nearly $7 million. It hired an expensive Dallas-based litigation firm, which then hired Kobach as a contractor, paying him nearly $190,000 — more than $44,000 of it after he became Kansas secretary of state. Its ordinance was never enacted. ‘We didn’t have seven million dollars sitting around to just blow. We had to take it out of our budget,’ said Phelps. ‘We were doing streets, we were doing parks, we were doing infrastructure for commercial properties, and we just had to cease all of that and cut it back.’ [...] When Kobach was hired by Farmers Branch in 2007, then-Mayor Bob Phelps said Kobach cited his anticipated victory in Valley Park as a selling point. The City Council, Phelps said, 'bought it hook, line and sinker.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
Farmers Branch Paid Out $7 Million In Legal Fees Resulting From The Ordinance And Had To Make Budget Cuts For Streets, Parks, And Other Infrastructure Projects To Cover Legal Costs. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kobach used his work in Valley Park to attract other clients, with sometimes disastrous effects on the municipalities. The towns — some with budgets in the single-digit-millions — ran up hefty legal costs after hiring him to defend similar ordinances. Farmers Branch, Texas, wound up owing $7 million in legal bills. Hazleton, Pa., took on debt to pay $1.4 million and eventually had to file for a state bailout. Fremont, Neb., raised property taxes to pay for Kobach’s services. None of the towns is currently enforcing an ordinance he helped craft. […] Like Hazleton, Farmers Branch also lost in trial court and on appeal. The process took nearly seven years and the city spent nearly $7 million. It hired an expensive Dallas-based litigation firm, which then hired Kobach as a contractor, paying him nearly $190,000 — more than $44,000 of it after he became Kansas secretary of state. Its ordinance was never enacted. ‘We didn’t have seven million dollars sitting around to just blow. We had to take it out of our budget,’ said Phelps. ‘We were doing streets, we were doing parks, we were doing infrastructure for commercial properties, and we just had to cease all of that and cut it back.’” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
2006: Kobach Advised Hazleton, Pennsylvania, Town Of 30,000, On Anti-Immigrant Ordinance. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kobach used his work in Valley Park to attract other clients, with sometimes disastrous effects on the municipalities. The towns — some with budgets in the single-digit-millions — ran up hefty legal costs after hiring him to defend similar ordinances. Farmers Branch, Texas, wound up owing $7 million in legal bills. Hazleton, Pa., took on debt to pay $1.4 million and eventually had to file for a state bailout. Fremont, Neb., raised property taxes to pay for Kobach’s services. None of the towns is currently enforcing an ordinance he helped craft. […] Valley Park and Hazleton both passed ordinances within days of each other in July 2006. The ACLU had warned both towns that they’d face lawsuits if the ordinances passed, and the organization quickly followed through on the threat. Hazleton lost decisively. The city of fewer than 30,000 people was defeated both at the trial court level and on appeal. Its ordinance never went into effect.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
2014: Hazleton Was Defeated Decisively In Court Battle Over Ordinance And Was Ordered To Pay $1.4 Million In Attorneys’ Fees. According to the Kansas City Star, “Hazleton lost decisively. The city of fewer than 30,000 people was defeated both at the trial court level and on appeal. Its ordinance never went into effect. Even then, Kobach maintained a serene confidence. By 2013, seven years into the litigation, a privately raised legal defense fund that had paid Hazleton’s bills (including $250,000 for Kobach’s fees) had run dry. The U.S. Supreme Court had declined to hear the city’s case. The ACLU had asked an appeals court to order Hazleton to reimburse it for $2.4 million in attorney fees. Despite that, Kobach told the Hazleton paper, the Standard Speaker, that the city shouldn’t expect many more substantial legal bills. ‘At this stage of the game, costs are much lower for both sides,’ he said, adding that ‘they are minuscule costs as opposed to costs at the front end of a lawsuit.’ That may have been true to the extent that he was describing his own fees. But a year later, Hazleton was ordered to pay the ACLU $1.4 million to cover its attorneys’ fees. At the time, the town was already $6 million in debt. It was forced to take on additional loans to pay the bills.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
2017: Hazleton Was Later Declared Financially Distressed And Entered Into A Recovery Plan With The State. According to the Kansas City Star, “The judge rejected the plea. ‘Municipalities, regardless of their fiscal health, have no discretion to enact improper laws,’ he wrote. Hazleton was declared financially distressed in September 2017 by the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development and entered into a recovery plan with the state. City officials deny that the $1.4 million payment to the ACLU forced their hand, but it was a significant sum for a municipality that in 2017 took in $9.5 million in revenue.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
Fremont, Nebraska Raised Property Taxes To Pay Kobach. According to the Kansas City Star, “Kobach used his work in Valley Park to attract other clients, with sometimes disastrous effects on the municipalities. The towns — some with budgets in the single-digit-millions — ran up hefty legal costs after hiring him to defend similar ordinances. Farmers Branch, Texas, wound up owing $7 million in legal bills. Hazleton, Pa., took on debt to pay $1.4 million and eventually had to file for a state bailout. Fremont, Neb., raised property taxes to pay for Kobach’s services. None of the towns is currently enforcing an ordinance he helped craft.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]
Fremont Retained Kobach To Help Craft Anti-Immigrant Ordinance And Defend The Measure From Legal Challenges And Was Paid More Than $100,000, But The Ordinance Was Unenforceable. According to the Kansas City Star, “On the surface, Kobach’s results appear better in Fremont, Neb. The City Council there had rejected a similar ordinance in 2008 over fear of litigation. But the idea of an anti-immigration law was revived in 2010, and 57 percent of the town voted it in as a ballot measure. The town banned landlords from renting to anyone in the country illegally and required renters to provide specific information to the police and obtain $5 occupancy licenses. The ordinance also forced city businesses to use a federal database to check the immigration status of all employees. The town hired Kobach to defend the new law, which he’d had a hand in writing. ‘He was the author … Who better?’ said Mayor Scott Getzschman, who had opposed the ordinance as a member of the City Council. Fremont won the right to ban undocumented immigrants from rental housing, although the provisions requiring employers to verify the status of employees were removed from the law. But shortly after the city’s victory in 2014, officials realized the law was toothless: The rental application wording written by Kobach and approved by the court did not require the necessary information to determine citizenship status. The law remains unenforceable. Fremont continues to retain Kobach in case new litigation arises. He has been paid more than $100,000 so far and, per his contract, will continue to be paid a $10,000 annual retainer. Getzschman says the town will reconsider its agreement if Kobach is elected governor in the fall.” [Kansas City Star, 8/1/18]