Southern Poverty Law Center immigration report focuses on Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach

? A new Southern Poverty Law Center report criticizing attempts by states and cities to crack down on illegal immigration focuses on the new Kansas secretary of state, Kris Kobach.

Kobach returned the criticism, telling The Associate Press on Monday night the report is a “hit piece.”

The report released Monday is titled in part, “When Mr. Kobach Comes to Town.”

Kobach is a Republican Kansas City-area law professor who has advised cities and states on how to attack illegal immigration. He helped to draft a controversial immigration law that Arizona enacted last year.

The report by the Alabama-based Southern Poverty Law Center argues that such policies spark expensive court fights and are damaging to communities.

Kobach said that the report greatly exaggerates the legal costs for communities and is filled with misinformation.