GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump is making a stop in Downtown Grand Rapids Tuesday.
He's expected to focus on President Joe Biden's immigration policies.
Trump's plane landed at Gerald R. Ford International Airport at 1:30 p.m.
Grand Rapids Police say to be prepared for road closures, but the exact roads have not been shared by the secret service.
The Kent County GOP "Trump Welcome Team" says it will host a Roadside Rally. The group plans to meet at 1 p.m. in front of the Kent County Parking Garage on Monroe. A map provided by the group shows they plan to be located along Monroe Ave. and Lyon St. from 1–4 p.m. They are asking people to RSVP here.
Trump's speech is scheduled for 2:30 p.m. at DeVos Place. It's expected to be a closed press conference by the former president to local law enforcement.
In an interview Monday, Police Chief Eric Winstrom told FOX 17, "We have been told it's not a rally. So we're not talking thousands of people attending this event. It's a few hundred. Nothing we won't be able to handle."
Tuesday's visit follows the death of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia. He body was found along US-131 in Grand Rapids March 22. Her boyfriend, Brandon Ortiz-Vite, is charged in the crime. Authorities say he is in the U.S. illegally after being deported to Mexico four years ago.
In a statement ahead of Trump's Speech, Michigan GOP Chair Pete Hoekstra released the following statement:
“West Michigan Suburban families are now facing the fact that the worst issues of the Southern Border have now made their way into our backyard. This is now the second murder by an illegal immigrant in the last year in Kent County. One is a tragedy, two is a trend. West Michigan is not going to accept illegal immigrants making us feel unsafe in our community. President Trump deported this man back in 2020 and somehow he got back into the country. It’s unacceptable. President Trump has promised to secure our border, and focus on making our communities safe again and he will deliver. I look forward to welcoming President Trump to West Michigan.”
The Kent County Democratic Party Chair released a statement last night saying in part:
By addressing immigration issues in a bipartisan manner, our national leaders would not only have been governing appropriately but also taking steps to reduce political polarization, promote social cohesion, and create a sense of unity around the issue of immigration. Clearly, the MAGA-led GOP would rather support a leader who stokes fear, aggression and division.
Now that same leader comes to Grand Rapids to expand his exploitation of not just the political rhetoric, but also the lives of those affected most by it. And it is distasteful, dishonest and disingenuous.
The senseless death of Ruby Garcia is a tragedy and a deeply felt personal loss. Yet, in coming to Grand Rapids at this exact moment, Trump chooses not to honor her memory as a victim of domestic violence but rather that of her killer, who happens to be an undocumented immigrant.
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