“It’s not my voice,” he said, “it’s the voice of the American people.”

He added: “Individuals like John McCain are not the leaders of the Republican party. And the news media are so excited that Marco Rubio is pro-amnesty, but they never mention (GOP Sen.) Ted Cruz (of Texas), who’s far more qualified and articulate on immigration issues.”

In a statement Monday, Cruz said he had “deep concerns” with the path to citizenship in the proposed Gang of Eight compromise.

Kobach shows no signs that he believes his immigration position is politically damaging. He recently announced he’ll seek re-election next year as secretary of state.

Last August, several agents for the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency sued the Obama administration, claiming its order to relax enforcement against children of illegal immigrants was illegal and unconstitutional. Last week, a federal judge threw out part of the lawsuit, but left part of it intact.

Kobach is an attorney for the agents. In a statement, he applauded the ruling.

At the same time, supporters of immigration reform aren’t worried about Kobach’s sustained visibility.

“Kris Kobach is history,” said Eliseo Medina of the Service Employees International Union in Washington, D.C. “Even if you look at Kansas, there’s a growing Latino community there. I don’t see where he goes from here.”

But Republicans and independent analysts in Kansas said Kobach’s influence in the state remains high.

“Kris Kobach is intelligent, energetic, and popular with many Republicans at the grassroots level,” said an email from Kelly Arnold, newly installed chairman of the Kansas Republican party. “His experience and expertise allows him to bring an important perspective on immigration policy to our state.”

Aistrup said Kobach would find it politically difficult to change his views on immigration even if he thought it hurt his national profile.

“It’s hard to back away,” Aistrup said, “from something he feels very strongly about.”