Kobach says Kan. has green light on immigration

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) - Secretary of State Kris Kobach says a U.S. Supreme Court ruling on Arizona's immigration law gives Kansas legislators a green light to pursue their own crackdown on illegal immigration.

Kobach, a former law professor who helped draft Arizona's law, said he's pleased with Monday's ruling in the Arizona case even though it struck down three of four provisions at issue.

Critics of the Arizona law see the ruling as likely to hinder any push for something similar in Kansas.

But Kobach says the high court upheld the heart of the Arizona statute. That section directs law enforcement officers to check the immigration status of people stopped for other reasons with a reasonable suspicion that they're in the country illegally.

Kobach says Kansas lawmakers can still pursue that policy and others.