Gary Johnson: Trump ‘fumbling’ on immigration

Libertarian presidential nominee Gary Johnson says his Republican counterpart’s waffling on immigration policy — first “softening” and then “hardening” his proposals — is not helping his White House campaign.

“There’s a reason why Donald Trump is now fumbling toward the ‘middle’ on immigration policy, after having gained the Republican nomination on nativist promises to build a wall along our Mexico border and deport 11 million undocumented immigrants,” Johnson said Monday in a CNN op-ed.

{mosads}“Rounding up 11 million people — a population larger than all but seven states in the union — is a ludicrous notion to begin with,” he added. “Everyone knows it, including Donald Trump.”

Johnson also criticized the national debate over illegal immigration, noting it ignores the real problems at hand with promises of sweeping solutions.

“As a white guy who served two terms as governor of New Mexico, a border state with by far the largest percentage of Latino residents in the nation, I really wish the nativists and panderers alike would just take a break, admit what the real problems are, and let common sense prevail.”

Johnson added making legal immigration easier would let America focus on protecting its border security.

“The way to stop illegal entry is to spend our resources making legal entry efficient for people coming here for the right reasons,” he said.

“[Americans] know that the only realistic, and, to borrow from this week’s language from Mr. Trump, humane policy is to find a fair and safe way to allow non-criminal, undocumented immigrants to get right with the law and go about their lives, paying taxes, having a valid Social Security number and earning a legal status.”

Trump, who has made building a border wall one of the tenets of his campaign, plans to give a major speech on immigration this Wednesday.

Trump indicated earlier this month he may begin “softening” his immigration positions, including mass deportations, before later backpedaling and saying he might actually be “hardening” his stance.