Kris Kobach Attends Mitt Romney Fundraiser

Immigration hawk and Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach attended a fundraising appearance by Mitt Romney Thursday, according to a pool report of the event from the Kansas City Star.

Kobach is the author of Arizona's contested immigration law, S.B. 1070, and is considered a leader in the anti-unauthorized immigration movement. He also says he is an informal adviser to the Romney campaign on immigration -- some of Romney's statements mirror Kobach's views -- a phrase the campaign backed away from in April.

The campaign told Politico at the time that Kobach was a "supporter," not an "adviser." When the press continued to ask about his role, Kobach insisted nothing had changed and that he still gave advice to the Romney campaign.

It's not clear what prompted the confusion over Kobach's role, but it came at a time when Romney was beginning to shift toward campaigning for the general election, when far-right stances on immigration are less likely to sway voters in his direction.

Although the campaign says it has been consistent on immigration, Romney has noticeably de-emphasized his stance on the matter -- he told a Colorado reporter this week that he wanted to talk about "issues of significance" when asked about immigration and social issues -- as the general election approaches.

An official at the Republican National Committee said on Tuesday that Romney is still deciding his immigration stance for the general election. She later said that she had mispoken. The campaign and the RNC responded that Romney's positions on immigration are clear.

Still, associating with Kobach could be damaging to Romney politically as he attempts to attract Latino voters, a majority of whom oppose S.B. 1070.