The Constitution says that the job of the president is to preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States, and do so with the utmost honesty. American voters know that our president represents our nation in the eyes of the world.

One of the reasons I’m running for president is to make sure that our nation continues to benefit from immigration and from free trade — two issues that are particularly important to Utah voters.

With my running mate Bill Weld, the former Republican governor of Massachusetts, we are the only candidates on all 50 state ballots besides the Republicans and Democrat candidates. And neither of them are very good on either issue.

As the former Republican governor of New Mexico, I’ve built a track record as a skeptic of government spending, including skepticism of military spending at home and abroad. As governor, I was willing to veto 750 bills that didn’t serve an important public purpose. I know that each of you, as taxpayers, can spend your money better than the federal government.

There’s never been any doubt in my mind that greater immigration helps our nation. The same is true for free trade.

On Thursday, I was honored to receive my fifth newspaper editorial endorsement: The Detroit News. I add that that’s five more endorsements than Donald Trump has received.

In particular, the News highlighted my free market and free-trade approach to international relationships.

“His position on trade is the most responsible of any of the candidates in the race,” the newspaper wrote. “He voices a healthy respect for free markets, and recognizes that unrestricted trade — absent crony capitalism — is a boon to the economy. He is the only candidate who would sign the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal negotiated by President Barack Obama.”

Utahns understand the vital connection that even a historically land-locked state now has with the world economy. This state thrives on its extensive personal and business ties with people from many parts of the globe, most particularly our neighbors in Latin America.

Think about the image, reputation and consequences that America would face in that part of the world with either a Trump or a Clinton in the White House.

Our nation needs smart policies that welcome immigrants while preserving our border. You would get neither with the other candidates.

As a border-state governor, I understand the vital role that immigration plays in the cultural and economic fabric of our nation. Neither of my opponents gets immigration — and why it’s good for America. Our nation benefits from the energy and resourcefulness these men and women bring to our country and economy.

Trump has peddled racism and nativism against immigrants as his path to the Republican nomination. He has slandered Mexican immigrants, proposed a ban on Muslim entry, and pledged to deport millions and build a wasteful wall on our southern border.

By contrast, Clinton sounds compassionate on the subject — until you realize that her proposals would do nothing to enable the best and brightest to come to America. Her talking points are about creating a new and special “path to citizenship.” That’s a non-issue: every American should have the same opportunity to earn citizenship.

Sovereignty requires that we control our border. However, of the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants in the U.S., a minute percentage actually present any real threat to our safety and security. The vast majority are here seeking opportunity and better lives that a broken immigration system otherwise denies them.

Indeed, the majority of Americans can actually agree on a solution. It isn’t all that different from the Utah Compact of 2010. A Johnson-Weld administration would allow immigrants who are here without documents but with otherwise clean records to pay taxes and undergo a background check to be able to legally reside in the U.S. We’d eliminate caps and quotas on immigration. Border enforcement would be devoted to keeping out real criminals and would-be terrorists.

Just as free trade in goods benefits our nation by expanding economic opportunities and by lowering prices, eliminating absurdly low quotas would strengthen our economy, including agriculture, tourism, construction and growing high-technology businesses. This will end the spiral of frustration and anger both among immigrants and among employers.

In an era of global connectedness, our nation is stronger by having the best-quality information to guard its borders, and simultaneously welcome in goods and services from other nations.

America cannot turn its back on immigrants or on free trade, any more than it could disavow that great symbol of our nation — the Statute of Liberty. It is that lighthouse of liberty that inspires everyone to live up to America’s constitutional ideals.

Gov. Gary Johnson (@GovGaryJohnson) is the Libertarian Party's presidential nominee. His running mate is former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld. Learn more at http://www.johnsonweld.com.