Juan Hernandez

AZ I See It

Mr. Trump: You are talking about Mi Familia.

It is impossible to stay indifferent when our family and our friends are being insulted and blamed for all the problems in America by one of the presidential candidates.

It’s a sad day when a major-party candidate can secure the nomination for president by promising to build a big, beautiful wall across the southern border — and magically getting Mexico to pay for it.

It’s just a cruel misdirection when a candidate tells voters that immigrants, my friends and family, are taking their jobs, instead of telling the truth: Immigrants create jobs with their contributions to the economy. Our jobs problem, which is very real, isn’t south of the border.

Where our economic problems really lie

It is on the Potomac River, where our job-killing tax code and overspending, over-regulating politicians — like Hillary Clinton — are to be found.

If we’re going to ramp up deportations, perhaps we should start with the people who insist on enshrining crony capitalism in our ridiculous tax system.

Donald Trump scapegoats Mexican immigrants as drug dealers and criminals — an image that unfortunately appeals to some. The facts: Immigrants, both documented and undocumented, commit crimes at lower rates than any other group in the U.S. That reality has been “documented” time and time again.

POLL:Majority of Arizonans oppose wall, mass deportation

Trump wants to create a “deportation force” to carry out his vision of a purely documented America. What’s that going to look like? Guys in uniforms knocking on doors? Stopping people of color on the streets to ask for papers?

And then there is the trade war he wants to launch.

Robust commerce between the U.S. and Mexico, along with much of Latin America, has been a bedrock of our economy for decades, with both sides benefiting tremendously. Now we are going to somehow “save” jobs and improve the economy by shredding agreements, imposing tariffs and otherwise slamming the door on the flow of goods and services across the border?

Protectionism is such a universally discarded notion that no one other than Trump even talks about it anymore.

What Gary Johnson proposes

Anyone who actually understands the push-and-pull forces in the labor market would recognize that the core of the problem are the absurd caps, limits and quotas our system places on immigrants. We have categories for different kinds of workers, different family members, students, and countries of origin. With all the bureaucracy and restrictions, we have a line for legal entry that doesn’t move. That’s why we have millions of undocumented immigrants.

Hillary Clinton also proposes nothing to address this bureaucracy. Her talking points are about creating a new and special “path to citizenship.” But Latinos are tired of the unkept promises of the left!

We need a civilized conversation about serious approaches to immigration, trade and legitimate risk-based border security.

RELATED:Where presidential candidates stand on immigration, other issues

Gary Johnson, the former governor of the neighboring state of New Mexico, proposes that the country remove arbitrary quotas on immigrants, make it simple and efficient to get a background check, a taxpayer ID or Social Security number, and to come here to work and pay taxes.

Don’t break up families. Don’t "round up" Latinos just because they don’t have “papers.” Focus our law-enforcement resources on real criminals who do us harm.

Latinos don’t expect anything different than the rest of America. They just expect to be treated with dignity and the welcoming embrace of a nation built upon embracing immigrants from all corners of the globe.

Gary Johnson is the only presidential candidate who is reminding voters that immigrants are a blessing to our nation, and proposing a solution to the broken system.

Juan Hernandez, a weekly commentator on CNN Espanol, is chair of Latinos for Johnson-Weld. He supported the campaigns of George W. Bush, John McCain and Jeb Bush. Follow him on Twitter, @HernandezJuan.

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