Republican gubernatorial nominee Bob Beauprez drew some criticism Wednesday after saying in a radio interview that he, if asked, would send the Colorado National Guard to the Mexican border.

Host Peter Boyles, on his 710 KNUS radio show, had asked Beauprez whether he would send troops if requested by Texas’ governor.

“If Rick Perry or another governor requested it, I would certainly step up and do my part,” Beauprez said.

However, after the interview, Beauprez campaign staffers said the former congressman would send Colorado troops only on a humanitarian mission, as the law would prevent any governor from deploying troops for a military effort.

Since July 21, Perry has dispatched hundreds of Texas National Guard troops to help local law enforcement turn back those trying to cross the border illegally. Perry cited drug smuggling and human trafficking as two reasons for such action.

From October to July, more than 63,000 c hildren were arrested trying to cross the border, according to the Department of Homeland Security.

In another part of the radio interview, Beauprez said, “What you’ve got to do is enforce the law, Pete. We’ve been relaxing laws, ignoring laws for a very long, long time — and that has consequences.”

Beauprez said he would not bring children from the border into Colorado, and he would end programs and policies that critics say provide a “sanctuary” for those in the country illegally, including a state driver’s license program that took effect Aug. 1.

Beauprez spokesman Allen Fuller argued that incumbent John Hickenlooper played pool with President Barack Obama at the Wynkoop Brewery during the president’s visit last month instead of accepting Perry’s invitation to visit the border during a visit to Texas the next day.

Tangia Estrada, who has been active in Colorado political issues affecting Latinos, said such statements disconnect candidates from the bloc, which is seen as vital to elections, given its growing population in the state.

“Latino voters are very much paying attention to what they see in the media from their representatives,” she said. “They obviously are going to look for leaders who represent them and lift up their community.”

Beauprez also stirred controversy with a radio interview during the Fourth of July weekend, when he said governors should be allowed to enforce immigration laws if the federal government won’t. He invoked the tougher measures Arizona put in place in 2010. Most of the measures were struck down in 2012 by the U.S. Supreme Court, which maintained that immigration law is a federal responsibility.

In Wednesday morning’s interview, he said: “A coalition of like-minded governors can have an enormous impact in forcing the federal government to finally get off its duff.”