Christie plans to stay silent on immigration unless he runs in 2016

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) says he will not articulate his position on immigration reform unless he runs for president in 2016.

“Until that time, that’s not my job and not my role,” he said during his trade trip in Mexico, according to reports from news outlets following the governor. 

{mosads}Christie, who won a majority of the Hispanic vote during his 2013 reelection, said he would outline a full position only if he decides on a White House run. 

“I understand everybody wants to start a campaign that I even haven’t decided I want to be in right now,” he said. “I’m just not going to do it. I won’t have anything to say on immigration unless, and until, I become a candidate for the president of the United States.”

Christie said he had been asked about the politics of U.S. immigration during meetings in Mexico but was not asked to explain his own position. 

The governor did say the immigration system is obviously not working, and called it the president’s job to bring people together. 

“It’s first and foremost the obligation of the president to try to get people together on this issue from his party and from the Republicans,” he said. “Then, it’s also the obligation to the members of Congress to find a solution to something that obviously isn’t working.”

Other potential candidates for president, including Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R), have been vocal on the issue. Immigration is a dominant issue for the governors of border states.