In an interview with Business Insider, Republican National Committee Chair Reince Priebus condemned Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach and his “self deportation” policy that GOP Presidential nominee Mitt Romney championed during his campaign.

“Using the word ‘self-deportation’ — it’s a horrific comment to make,” Priebus said, in a forceful rebuke. “I don’t think it has anything to do with our party. When a candidate makes those comments, obviously, it hurts us.”

“Kris Kobach has made it his life mission to tear families apart all over Kansas and all over America,” Kansas Democratic Party Executive Director Jason Perkey said. “Kobach’s own national party chairman believes his policies are ‘horrific’. For this, and many other reasons, Kansans are looking forward to rebuking Kobach’s horrific ideas next year by voting him out of office.”

Preibus isn’t the first national Republican to slap down Kobach’s extremist policy, for example, Newt Gingrich had appeared on CNN’s The Situation Room and said of self-deportation, “That is the most anti-human phrase you can imagine…I think it was very unfortunate and frankly helped cost us the election. (CNN, 1/30/13)

As recently as this April, Kobach testified in front of the United State Senate Judiciary Committee that “self-deportation is not some radical idea. It is simply the idea that people may comply with the law by their own choice.” (Mother Jones 4/22/13)