Kris Kobach says that the President’s immigration executive action could lead to “ethnic cleansing” in America.
First, here’s what you need to know about Kris Kobach.
Aside from being the Republican Secretary of State for the State of Kansas, he is “of counsel,” or, an attorney who represents, the Immigration Law Reform Institute (ILRI). That group, the IRLI, is an arm of a group you’ve likely heard about, the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR.
The Southern Poverty Law Center in 2007 placed FAIR on its Active Anti-Immigrant Groups list.Â
“The identification of FAIR as a bona fide hate group is important,” the SPLC explained. “FAIR is the hub of the American nativist movement, the group that more than any other has contributed to the rancid turn the national immigration discussion has taken. With FAIR fanning the flames of xenophobic intolerance, hate groups, hate crimes and hate speech directed at foreigners and Latinos continue to rise in America.”
That was, of course, seven years ago.
Fast forward to this week.
“What protects us in America from any kind of ethnic cleansing is the rule of law, of course,” Secretary of State Kris Kobach told listeners Sunday on his radio show. “And the rule of law used to be unassailable, used to be taken for granted in America. And now, of course, we have a President who disregards the law when it suits his interests. And, so, you know, while I normally would answer that by saying, ‘Steve, of course we have the rule of law, that could never happen in America,’ I wonder what could happen. I still don’t think it’s going to happen in America, but I have to admit, that things are, things are strange and they’re happening.”
The audio below opens with a caller asking Kobach a question, suggesting Hispanics want America to give them half the U.S. territory. At the one-minute mark Kobach responds.
Listen:
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Hat tip: Talking Points Memo
Image via Wikimedia
Audio and transcript via Right Wing Watch