JEFFERSON CITY â Missouri Treasurer Vivek Malek is promoting an ad showing him on the nationâs southern border, joining other Republicans in making immigration policy a top campaign issue.
âI support President (Donald) Trump and his wall,â Malek says as he in the 30-second spot.
But as an attorney, Malek made his living defending immigrants who faced deportation. In at least , Malek offers hope and advice to immigrants applying to stay in the United States.
âIf your initial application for a visa or green card has been denied, sometimes your best or only option is to start over and reapply. For temporary visas, such as those granted to tourists, no appeal exists. An experienced immigration attorney can discuss potential steps if your immigration application has been rejected,â one of the ads notes.
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âDonât give up right away,â the ad says. âA second look might change the result. Several possible defenses exist under U.S. law.â
Malek, a Wildwood resident, is among six Republicans vying to become treasurer, including House Budget Committee Chairman Cody Smith, of Carthage; Sen. Andrew Koenig, of Manchester; and Lori Rook, a Springfield attorney.
A campaign spokesman for Smith called Malekâs border wall ad âa staggering display of hypocrisy.â
âFor someone who has made his alleged fortune as an immigration lawyer, Malek conveniently ignores his own contributions to the very crisis he now decries. For years, Malek has been on the wrong side of immigration reform, profiting from the system he now criticizes,â said Nick Maddux.
Rook agreed.
âHypocritical is the right word. Heâs made a lot of money defending deportation of illegals,â Rook told the Post-Dispatch.
The were released when Malek was still spelling his name as âMalik.â His office said he changed the spelling of his surname when he became a U.S. citizen in 2017 because the new spelling is closer to how his name is pronounced in India and people often thought Malik was his first name.
In 2022, however, Malek was appointed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson to take over as treasurer, filling a vacancy created when Scott Fitzpatrick moved to the state auditor post.
In a statement to the Post-Dispatch, Malek defended his position.
âWhen I was a practicing attorney, I worked with those who wanted to immigrate to the United States the right way; the legal way. The myriad of laws, rules, and court opinions regarding immigration are very complex, and people who want to be in the United States legally typically require an attorney to assist them,â he said.
âI am and always have been appalled at open borders. I support legal immigration, not the disastrous policies of the Biden administration that have encouraged millions of illegal immigrants to invade our country. There should be no shortcuts to becoming an American,â Malek added.
As part of his campaign to win a full, four-year term, Malek has made his own immigration to the U.S. a central part of his campaign.
On , Malek outlines his journey from India to Southeast Missouri State University in 2001 with $300 in his pocket.
âThrough hard work and education, he received two Masterâs Degrees and built a successful small business,â it says.
In traveling to the southern border, Malek joins a long list of GOP candidates angling to appeal to Trump voters heading into the Aug. 6 primary.
Lt. Gov. Mike Kehoe, who is running for governor, made the trek, as did Sen. Lincoln Hough, a Springfield Republican who is running to replace Kehoe in the No. 2 slot.
Maddux called Malekâs border visit a âstuntâ by âjust another Jefferson City insider trying to score cheap points with the Republican base on immigration.â
Others vying for the GOP nomination for treasurer include Karan Pujji and Tina Goodrick.
My campaign is airing our first television ad. As a first-generation American who worked for years to earn the opportunity to become a citizen, what Joe Biden has done at the border is unacceptable. We need President Donald Trump back in office to secure our border.
â Vivek Malek (Missouri) đșđž (@MalekVivek)