Kris Kobach Was Considered for ICE Boss Before 'Voter Fraud' Job
Kris Kobach has a loyal band of fans rooting him on in his crusade against supposed ballot bad guys—but they can’t help wanting more.
BETSY WOODRUFF
07.07.17 1:00 AM ET
For the past week, Kris Kobach has dominated headlines and drawn scorching criticism for his role helping lead President Donald Trump’s voting commission. Opponents of Kobach, who is currently Kansas’ secretary of state, say he has way too much power and will use it to make it harder for Americans to vote. But for his backers, Kobach’s moment in the spotlight brings wistfulness for what could have been.
In the early days of the Trump administration, the Kansan was widely viewed as a top contender for a senior role in the Department of Homeland Security. Kobach has long been a favorite of immigration hawks, and Public Enemy Number One for those who want less immigration enforcement. He met with Trump just two weeks after the presidential election at Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, fueling speculation that he could be in the running for any number of high-level administration positions.
Some in the White House wanted him to be deputy secretary of homeland security, as The Wall Street Journal noted in January, but Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly himself shot down the idea. Sources tell The Daily Beast Kobach’s name was also batted around as a potential director of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the agency in DHS responsible for enforcing immigration laws.
Immigration hawks told The Daily Beast they would have loved to see Kobach get that job.
“Kobach obviously knows more about immigration than most people, and so having him in an enforcement role would have been a good move, obviously,” said Mark Krikorian, who heads the Center for Immigration Studies, adding Kobach could have had trouble getting through the Senate.
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