Gov. candidate Marco Lopez: We need real solutions, not an “invasion” declaration that hurts all Arizonans

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Attorney General Brnovich recently released a legal opinion declaring that the migration at our southern border can be defined as an “invasion” under the United States Constitution and therefore Arizona, as a state, has the ability to engage in war.

With this unconstitutional and sloppy opinion, the Attorney General is acting without any regard for actual solutions at our border, for the 200,000 jobs that depend on trade with our neighbor Mexico or for the over two million Latinos in this state who are made vulnerable to hateful attacks and discrimination by this type of rhetoric.

To make matters worse, this obvious political stunt by Brnovich is nothing more than an attempt to get a leg up in his Republican senate campaign. Why else would his campaign tweet out the “official” opinion with the caption, “I’m declaring war on the southern border invasion?”

As a son of immigrants, a former border city mayor, former Director of the Arizona Department of Commerce and a Homeland Security official in the Obama Administration, I understand border issues more intimately than most. Obviously the Attorney General hasn’t done his homework about the $16 billion trade dollars that are at stake if we declare war on our southern neighbor, or for the cooperation that Mexico provides American law enforcement in busting smugglers and human traffickers.

It makes sense that Brnovich is running for the Senate — he would fit right in in D.C., because he is only interested in scoring political points by making headlines with divisive rhetoric and empty promises.

At Homeland Security, I was involved in operations that deterred and apprehended smuggler operations, worked closely with Mexico to cooperate and share information and oversaw programs that improved aerial technology.

This is the way we actually solve the issues at the border—by investing in the infrastructure and programs that will improve safety operations between the ports of entry, and finally fix the processing systems that help people come here legally—not with hateful rhetoric and unconstitutional declarations.

On the road to the Arizona primary, GOP gubernatorial hopefuls have been capitalizing on typical anti-immigration campaign dog whistles, with some ads so offensive they had to be pulled down.

Marco Lopez

The Attorney General is not helping the situation—he’s making it worse. 

This is also not the first time extremists have referred to the complicated situation at the border as an “invasion,” the former President being one of the worst offenders. During his term, hate crimes against Latinos shot up and neither I, nor any of my Latino brothers and sisters, have forgotten the 2019 massacre in El Paso when a gunman drove hundreds of miles to kill Latinos doing their Saturday shopping at Walmart.

But this isn’t stopping the GOP. On the road to the Arizona primary, GOP gubernatorial hopefuls have been capitalizing on typical anti-immigration campaign dog whistles, with some ads so offensive they had to be pulled down.

As governor, I will use my first-hand experience to work toward actual solutions to the issues at the border with strategy, focus and compassion—not hate, fear and division. Arizonans have had enough of the partisan games Brnovich is trying to play; we need real solutions.

Marco Lopez is a Democrat running for Arizona governor. If elected, he would be the first Latino governor of Arizona in 50 years. He is the former two-term mayor of Nogales, a Napolitano and Obama administration alum, and a small business owner. For more information, visit Marcolopez.com.