Kobach says he advised Trump on immigration, Mexico wall

Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach, right, has advised Donald Trump's campaign on immigration issues.

? Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach says he has advised GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump on immigration issues, particularly on Trump’s call to force Mexico to pay for a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Trump has proposed cutting off money that Mexicans living in the U.S. send back to their homeland unless Mexico makes a one-time payment of $5 billion to $10 billion, which he said would help pay for the proposed wall.

Kobach, who has built a national reputation for fighting illegal immigration, said the remittance plan is consistent with discussions he has had with Trump’s campaign. The Trump campaign didn’t respond to a request to elaborate on Kobach’s involvement, The Topeka Capital-Journal reported.

“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,” said Kobach, who was the only Kansas statewide elected official to endorse Trump before the GOP caucus in March. Sen. Ted Cruz won the state.

Last week, the Trump campaign published the plan for paying for the wall on its website. He said he would change a rule under the Patriot Act to cut off some funds sent to Mexico through money transfers known as remittances. The plan also would bar non-Americans from wiring money outside of the U.S. unless they can provide documents showing they are living legally in the U.S. That plan would be dropped if Mexico agreed to the one-time payment.

The proposal is a more detailed version of one Kobach proposed in February when he endorsed Trump. On Friday, Kobach said he drafted portions of the plan posted on the website.

Trump’s proposal has been harshly criticized on several fronts, including by President Barack Obama and the U.S. Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.