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Kris Kobach on In-State Tuition for Illegal Immigrants and Noncitizen Voting

Episode length: 36m

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The Trump administration’s Department of Justice is challenging state laws that provide in-state college tuition rates to illegal aliens, arguing that they violate federal law.

Kansas Attorney General Kris Kobach joins host Mark Krikorian, the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies, in this episode of Parsing Immigration Policy to discuss a recent federal court ruling against Kansas’s tuition law, the related legal battles unfolding in other states, and efforts to identify and prosecute noncitizens who register and vote in U.S. elections.

In relation to repealing in-state tuition for illegal aliens, Kobach stated, “Philosophically and just as a principle of common sense, a country should treat its own citizens better than it treats both legal and illegal aliens, frankly, in terms of benefits.”Among the topics discussed:

  • The legal challenge to in-state tuition: Kobach explains how a 1996 federal statute restricts states from offering resident tuition rates to illegal aliens unless those rates are also available to all U.S. citizens, regardless of their state of residence.
  • The cost and consequences of tuition benefits: Kobach argues that in-state tuition benefits give illegal aliens a financial advantage over out-of-state American students and can create incentives for illegal immigration.
  • Identifying noncitizens on voter rolls: Kobach discusses Kansas’s use of federal databases to identify noncitizens registered to vote, along with investigations and prosecutions involving violations of election law.

Host

Mark Krikorian is the Executive Director of the Center for Immigration Studies.

Guest

Kris Kobach is the Attorney General of Kansas.

Links

Federal Court Strikes Down Kansas In-State Tuition Law for Illegal Aliens

Kansas Attorney General Website

Kris Kobach's personal website

Intro Montage

Voices in the opening montage:

  • Sen. Barack Obama at a 2005 press conference.
  • Sen. John McCain in a 2010 election ad.
  • President Lyndon Johnson, upon signing the 1965 Immigration Act.
  • Booker T. Washington, reading in 1908 from his 1895 Atlanta Exposition speech.
  • Laraine Newman as a "Conehead" on SNL in 1977.
  • Hillary Clinton in a 2003 radio interview.
  • Cesar Chavez in a 1974 interview.
  • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi speaking to reporters in 2019.
  • Prof. George Borjas in a 2016 C-SPAN appearance.
  • Sen. Jeff Sessions in 2008 comments on the Senate floor.
  • Candidate Trump in 2015 campaign speech.
  • Charlton Heston in "Planet of the Apes".
Host:
Mark Krikorian