TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Kris Kobach is representing four Texas sheriffs and a law enforcement group in a federal lawsuit against President Joe Biden and his administration over a policy discouraging the deportation of some immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Kobach is seeking the Republican nomination for Kansas attorney general in 2022 after failed bids for governor in 2018 and the U.S. Senate in 2020. He is a former Kansas secretary of state who built a national profile by advocating more restrictive immigration policies and advising former President Donald Trump.
He is listed as the general counsel for the Alliance for Free Citizens in a statement announcing the lawsuit’s filing Thursday, The Topeka Capital-Journal reports. Its website says the alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to “individual liberties, communities, families, and shared patriotic values.”
The lawsuit challenges a policy requiring Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers to get a superior’s approval before attempting to deport anyone who hasn’t recently crossed the border or who isn’t deemed a criminal or national security threat. The group involved in the lawsuit represents ICE officers.
The lawsuit says the policies violates federal law and increases demands on local law enforcement.
ICE argues that it’s focusing limited resources on national security and public safety threats.
