Trump's tariffs take aim at Mexico -- and hit American consumers

That's brilliant. It took Americans at least four decades to make a mess of immigration across the U.S.-Mexico border. Now Trump is giving the Mexicans four months to clean it up.

According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, officials apprehended 132,887 people in May along the U.S.-Mexico border. That's the largest monthly total since 2006.

Those taken into custody include tens of thousands of people who are trying to come legally -- at least as they understand the process for seeking asylum. Let's not be so quick to slap the "illegal" label on those desperate women and children who are fleeing violence and hoping for refugee status. That is not fair.

Nor is it accurate to say that the proposed tariffs are aimed at Mexico. Will someone please explain to the president how tariffs work? They are not a tax on countries. They are a tax on products, and the people who pay the tax are the folks who buy those products.

The Mexican government isn't really involved. The tariff is aimed at U.S. companies who have moved operations to Mexico because labor unions in the United States artificially inflate the wages of U.S. workers to a level that is unsustainable if companies want to stay in business.

Years ago, I visited a U.S. automaker in the border town of Tijuana. Under the Trump tariff, the cars produced at this plant would have an extra tax attached to them when imported into the United States. That tax would not be on Mexico. It would be levied on the U.S. automaker, which isn't going to pay it either. The company will just raise the price of the car, and the U.S. consumer will pay the tariff.

And for those who think the answer is to simply not buy cars from that company, that would just eliminate a competitor from the market, which would likely prompt other companies to raise their prices.

Good plan. It's no wonder the major pushback to the Trump tariff seems to be coming from Senate Republicans, led by Majority Leader Mitch McConnell.

Only one major political party understands economics. So naturally, they chose as their leader someone who doesn't.

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Ruben Navarrette's email address is ruben@rubennavarrette.com. His daily podcast, "Navarrette Nation," is available through every podcast app.