Jeb Bush 2016 Presidential Candidate: Spanish-Language Ad Highlights Bush Immigration, Minimum Wage Stance in Latino Battleground States

By Michael Oleaga Jun 15 2015, 08:00 AM EDT

Coinciding with former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush's official presidential campaign announcement, a new advertisement has been released highlighting his stance on issues critical to the Latino community.

People for the American Way (PFAW), a left-leaning nonprofit organization, released a 30-second advertisement stating that Bush is "out of touch with [the Latino] community." The Spanish-language advertisement will air four states with notably increasing Latino populations: Colorado, Florida, North Carolina and Virginia.

"Our media program focuses on battleground states where Latinos can and will be the deciding factor in elections. For this ad campaign, we're highlighting Jeb Bush's dangerous agenda to Latino voters in Colorado, Virginia, North Carolina, and Florida," said PFAW Political Director Randy Borntrager in a statement to Latin Post.

Colorado and Florida's Latino population rate exceeds the national average of 17.1 percent with 21 percent and 23.6 percent, respectively. North Carolina narrowly edges Virginia's Latino population rate with 8.9 percent to 8.6 percent.

According to the video, Bush's immigration polices would "condemn undocumented immigrants to a second class status." The PFAW video noted his immigration plan would not include a pathway to citizenship for immigrants. The video also referenced Bush's stance on minimum wage. During his time as Florida's governor, Bush opposed the state's referendum to increase the minimum wage.

"Jeb Bush just isn't for us," concluded the advertisement.

"We are speaking directly to the Latino community, in Spanish, to expose Jeb Bush's priorities that are clearly out of line with those of our community," said PFAW's Coordinator of Political Campaigns Carlos A. Sanchez. "That's why we're highlighting his stance against raising the minimum wage and his belief that undocumented immigrants should not have a path to citizenship."

PFAW's advertisement comes as Bush formally enters the field of Republican presidential candidates, which includes Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida and Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas.

Ahead of Bush's announcement from Miami Dade College, a coalition of Florida's congressional representatives issued their support for Bush, including Republican Latino Reps. Carlos Curbelo, Mario Diaz-Balart and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.

"Jeb Bush's executive leadership experience both as governor of Florida and in the private sector make him exceptionally qualified to renew America's economic promise and restore our leadership role in the world," said Curbelo, who represents the Sunshine State's 26th District. "From a very young age, Jeb Bush has stood strong for the Republican Party and its principles, and I am proud to stand with him today."

Bush's campaign also released a "pre-announcement" video titled "Making A Difference" highlighting the "impact Jeb Bush had on the lives of countless Floridians as governor of Florida." The video features Floridians telling her accounts about Bush's tenure as governor.