Kris Kobach: DACA Amnesty Will ‘Cause Surge in Illegal Immigration,’ Trump Must ‘Demand E-Verify’

by John Binder3 Jan 2018Washington, D.C.0

3 Jan, 20183 Jan, 2018

In an appearance on FNC’s “Fox News @ Night” on Tuesday, Kansas Secretary of State and gubernatorial hopeful Kris Kobach said any plan that gives amnesty to nearly 800,000 illegal aliens shielded from deportation by the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals policy would “cause a surge in illegal immigration.”

He added that surge in illegal immigration should be combatted with multiple reforms, including mandatory E-Verify, which would bar employers from hiring illegal aliens for U.S. jobs.

Partial transcript as follows:

DACA is bad policy. It’s going to hurt … those 800,000 illegal aliens are in their 20’s and 30’s, they’re not kids. And they’re competing for jobs with Americans who in that age group are facing 9 percent unemployment, 19 percent under-employment. So we’re going to be taking Americans out of jobs and giving those jobs to DACA recipients effectively.

And it’s going to cause a surge in illegal immigration. So what would President Trump be willing to take that hit — that bad policy that’s also going to anger his base — you know what would he be willing to get… what would he be willing to demand? And I think he has to demand more than just the RAISE Act, which is the end to chain migration, and more than just the border wall. He’d have to demand E-Verify, mandatory nationwide as well to make sure that this new surge of illegal aliens — which will come in, there’s no question, if we grant an amnesty, they will come in — make sure that they don’t take additional jobs from Americans.

So I see the president kind of staking out the grounds for the discussion, but I think he needs to take an even stronger position and say ‘I need three things, at a minimum. If I don’t get all three, I’m walking.’ And you know we know that he’s a great dealmaker, but… I’m hoping that he holds the line and says ‘No, this is absolutely non-negotiable.’