AP16:156
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 10, 2016
CONTACT:
Jesse Melgar or Sam Mahood
(916) 653-6575
California Secretary of State Calls Trump’s Placement of Kris Kobach on Transition Team an “Assault on Voting Rights and Civil Rights”
SACRAMENTO – Secretary of State Alex Padilla released the following statement in response to the appointment of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to Mr. Trump’s transition team:
“Mr. Trump’s selection of Kris Kobach to the immigration transition team sends a deeply troubling message that telegraphs an imminent assault on our collective voting rights and civil rights. His participation is a threat to diverse communities throughout our nation. Kobach’s pattern of supporting racist, anti-immigrant policies including voter suppression and racial profiling laws, such as Arizona’s SB 1070, are not only divisive, but have repeatedly been found unconstitutional. Mr. Trump’s selection of Kobach is in direct conflict with his stated desire to bring America together.”
Kobach is the architect of Arizona’s SB1070 which would have required police to demand proof of citizenship if an individual was “suspected” of being a non-citizen. Kobach was previously employed at the Federation for American Immigration Reform, or FAIR, an organization designated as a “hate group” by the Southern Poverty Law Center in 2007.
###
Follow the California Secretary of State on Twitter and Facebook.
