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Kansas Secretary of State Attracts National Attention

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach speaks at a Topeka Republican Club. Photo by Laura Ziegler / KCUR.

By Laura Ziegler

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/kcur/local-kcur-987727.mp3

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Frustrated by the lack of federal immigration legislation, state lawmakers around the country are taking the problem into their own hands by writing their own laws. At the heart of many of those laws is Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach.

He worked closely with Arizona to craft controversial illegal immigration legislation there and has been hired by at least half a dozen other states to either write or defend similar laws there.

In Kansas, Kobach worked with legislators to get an Arizona-style law passed. It failed, but the Secretary of State has vowed to try again in 2012.

 

As Kansas City grows and diversifies, journalists need to listen to the people, to your challenges and successes..As engagement and solutions editor, I’ll make sure we’re framing stories based on what we hear from you, and we’ll partner with communities so our stories help us understand and connect to one another. Email me at lauraz@kcur.org.
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