Americans' Third Party Presidential Candidate, But What's Libertarian Gary Johnson's Immigration Stance?

By Michael Oleaga First Posted: May 31, 2016 11:58 AM EDT

American citizens will have a third presidential option this November with Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson, former Republican governor of New Mexico, where Latinos currently comprise 47 percent of the state's population. One stance Latinos may want to keep an eye on is Johnson's views on immigration.

Johnson on Trump's "Insanity"

Last week, Johnson appeared on CNN and denounced Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump's ideas regarding immigration and border security. Trump has previously called for a wall between the southern U.S. border and Mexico, mass deportation of up to 11 million undocumented immigrants and labeled Mexican immigrants as murderers and rapists.

"Insanity comes to mind," Johnson said about Trump's proposals. "Look, this is really rooted in misinformation. They are the cream of the crop when it comes to workers. They're not murderers and rapists. Statistically they commit far less crime than U.S. citizens. We should make it as easy as possible for somebody who wants to come into this country to work to get a work visa."

Johnson added that the work visa should include a background check and a security security card for tax purposes. He said the U.S. government is responsible for these "illegal" immigrants because the jobs already exists in the U.S. and the immigrants simply want to make life better for themselves.

"They're not taking jobs that U.S. citizens want," Johnson said.

Mass Deportation Opposition

Johnson has repeatedly said he opposes the concept of mass deportation and a wall, regardless of its size. As his campaign website states Johnson "understands that a bigger fence will only produce taller ladders and deeper tunnels," and the increase of migrants is due to a failed legal immigration system.

While he prefers an easier and streamline of the legal immigration process -- to further reduce the undocumented immigration population - Johnson wants a system that match immigrants with employers in order to enhance the economy and labor marketplace.

Latin Post did reach out to Johnson's campaign regarding his stance on President Barack Obama's two deferred action programs -- Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) and Deferred Action for Parental Accountability (DAPA) -- which would grant approximately 4.9 million undocumented immigrants with temporary protections from deportation. Johnson's campaign did not immediately respond to our DACA and DAPA inquiry, but an update will be provided once a response arrives.

Johnson was formally named as the Libertarian Party's presidential candidate on Sunday, May 29, during their national convention. He is running with his vice presidential pick William Weld, previously served as governor of Massachusetts.