Kris Kobach Claims To Be Advising Donald Trump On Immigration Policy

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in Topeka. Kobach said that the federal court ruling order on immigration vindicates his efforts. A federal judge in Texas... Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach speaks during a news conference Tuesday, Feb. 17, 2015, in Topeka. Kobach said that the federal court ruling order on immigration vindicates his efforts. A federal judge in Texas temporarily blocked executive orders Tuesday that would have protected as many as 5 million people who entered the U.S. illegally from deportation. (AP Photo/Topeka Capital-Journal, Thad Allton) MORE LESS
Start your day with TPM.
Sign up for the Morning Memo newsletter

Kris Kobach has been advising Donald Trump on immigration issues, the Kansas secretary of state told the Topeka Capital-Journal in an interview published Sunday.

Kobach has specifically helped with Trump’s proposal to force Mexico to pay for a wall along its border with the United States. When the Kansas official endorsed Trump in February, he laid out a way for Trump to use the Patriot Act to bar Mexican nationals in the United States from wiring money to Mexican residents. This loss of money would motivate the Mexican government to pay for the wall, Kobach wrote.

In a memo provided to the Washington Post earlier in April, Trump’s plan to make Mexico pay for the wall echoed Kobach’s February statement.

Kobach told the Capital-Journal that he helped write Trump’s plan and has “been in touch with Mr. Trump directly and his campaign team about this issue.”

“Mr. Trump was receptive to that idea and I think he’s an excellent negotiator and he looks for opportunities to put pressure on opposing parties in negotiations and this fits the bill,” Kobach said.

Kobach has been among the GOP’s fiercest immigration hardliners. He helped write the Arizona law that allowed law enforcement officers to stop people they believed were undocumented immigrants, and has pushed for proof of citizenship as a requirement to register to vote.

In his interview with the Capital-Journal, Kobach also applauded Trump’s ability to attract new voters to the Republican Party and the 2016 election.

“A lot of that is due to the Trump effect, where he’s bringing in people who have been completely absent from political involvement and participation in elections,” he said.

H/t Politico

Latest Livewire

Notable Replies

  1. use the Patriot Act to bar Mexican nationals in the United States from wiring money to Mexican residents.

    Yet another of the 100,001 reasons the Patriot Act should be repealed.

  2. Kobach: Trump is smart. It was his idea that I put a wrong deadline date for hispanic voters guide in my state. He is a very smart White man.

  3. So that’s the guy to blame for failing to anticipate two glaring problems–1) if those illegals are deported, there is no wired money to interfere with; and 2) how long do you think it would take for them to find a different way of sending money home?

  4. Oh this is wonderful. Kobach did the same thing in the Fall of 2012–“touting” his status as Immigration Adviser to Romney. But this SOB is so toxic, Romney denied it, not wanting to touch him with a ten foot pole. But eventually he could deny it no longer and his campaign was hurt seriously by the association. What is the opposite of “bounce”? And he probably has or will advise Cruz as well because Republicans are addicted to Latino hatred and Kobach is their pusher/dealer.

  5. Rendition this asshole to Juárez.

Continue the discussion at forums.talkingpointsmemo.com

26 more replies

Participants

Avatar for system1 Avatar for lestatdelc Avatar for ajaykalra Avatar for littlegirlblue Avatar for marby Avatar for blue_grit Avatar for humpback Avatar for rudesan Avatar for Lacuna-Synecdoche Avatar for mantan Avatar for upwitoulz Avatar for frankly_my_dear Avatar for ottnott Avatar for khaaannn Avatar for dnl Avatar for darrtown Avatar for pshah Avatar for thunderclapnewman Avatar for sidney76 Avatar for ljb860 Avatar for tiowally Avatar for irishbark Avatar for boulderdash

Continue Discussion
Masthead Masthead
Founder & Editor-in-Chief:
Executive Editor:
Managing Editor:
Deputy Editor:
Editor at Large:
General Counsel:
Publisher:
Head of Product:
Director of Technology:
Associate Publisher:
Front End Developer:
Senior Designer: