Granada, Michigan

Granada, Michigan — During his Michigan campaign stop on Tuesday, Donald Trump attacked what he termed “Biden’s border bloodbath,” focusing specifically on the death of a young woman who was allegedly brought into the country unlawfully by immigration agents.

Trump remarked, “She lit up that room, and I’ve heard that from so many people,” during a press conference held in Ruby Garcia’s hometown, the 25-year-old victim. “A portion of her family and I spoke.”

However, Garcia’s sister, speaking on behalf of the family, claimed on Tuesday that neither Trump nor his campaign had gotten in touch with her or any other close family members. She also criticised the GOP presidential candidate for trying to link the situation to his calls for a border crackdown.

“It’s always been about illegal immigrants,” Mavi Garcia, the sister of the victim, stated to Target 8, a local news station. “Nobody actually talks about the horrible crimes committed by Americans, so it’s surprising that he would just bring up illegals. What about the horrible acts committed by Americans?

During a speech in Wisconsin later on Tuesday, Trump made no mention of speaking with Garcia’s family, and the Trump team remained silent throughout the day. The Washington Post was informed by Mavi Garcia that the family was never contacted by Trump or his team.

Speaking extensively at his rallies about high-profile killings police have linked to undocumented immigrants, such as Laken Riley in Georgia and Garcia in Grand Rapids, a city in one of the most hotly contested counties in one of the few states that could decide the presidential race, Trump has made immigration a central campaign theme for his second term and has increasingly connected the issue to crime. 25-year-old Brandon Ortiz-Vite, the defendant in Garcia’s case, was deported in September 2020 by the Trump administration and later returned to the United States. He has a prior arrest history.

Democrats have highlighted data showing that illegal immigrants do not commit more crimes than citizens, and they have presented Garcia’s Michigan case as proof of the risks of violence against women. According to the authorities, on March 22, the accused shot and left Ruby Garcia dead on the side of the road when they were dating.

In the days preceding Trump’s event, Garcia’s family members refrained from participating in the political uproar around her passing, confining their remarks to expressions of remembrance.

However, Mavi Garcia clarified on Tuesday, referring to Trump’s remarks as “shocking.”

“He didn’t communicate with any of us, so it was somewhat startling to discover that he had misled people on live television and claimed to have spoken with us,” she stated to Target 8. The attention “should be on my sister right now, who she was in life,” she stated, even though she wished Ortiz-Vite had “stayed in Mexico.”

In addition to other charges, Ortiz-Vite is accused of murder.

On the other hand, Riley’s family, the young lady who was killed in Georgia, has welcomed Trump. Riley’s mother has blasted Biden for mispronouncing her daughter’s name in his State of the Union speech. Riley’s parents met with Trump last month before to his taking the stage for a rally in Rome, Georgia.

Authorities claim that Jose Ibarra, a man from Venezuela who entered the country illegally in 2022, killed Riley, a nursing student. Murder is the charge against Ibarra.

During his meeting with law enforcement on Tuesday and his speech on immigration, Trump made an effort to draw attention to the situations of Garcia and Riley. A large-screen chart showed an increase in border crossings from the south since Biden assumed office. Trump restated his pledges to halt immigration without documentation and carry out a large-scale deportation operation.

Trump declared on Tuesday that Riley had been “barbarically murdered by an illegal alien animal.” “Democrats want that you refer to them as humans instead of animals. “No, they’re not humans,” I replied. They are creatures. I heard Nancy Pelosi say that. “Sir, please refrain from calling these people animals when discussing them.” she remarked. I decided to refer to them as animals as that is what they are.

Following Biden’s campaign’s emphasis on the use of the term “animals,” Trump’s team attempted to elucidate the meaning, claiming in a social media post that “animals” were those who commit murder.