GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. — Former President Donald Trump’s campaign stopped by West Michigan Tuesday afternoon to speak to a room full of law enforcement officials.
Dozens of people filed into a convention area at DeVos Performance Hall in downtown Grand Rapids for what the campaign called a "closed event" to offer remarks on "Biden’s Border Bloodbath."
The audience was made up of law enforcement officials and other invited guests.
Trump took the stage just after 2:50 p.m. Tuesday.
Watch the full rally here:
He was joined by a number of law enforcement officials standing around the podium.
“The bad ones are coming in at a level nobody thought was possible,” Trump said in regard to the situation at the Southern border.
Van Buren County Sheriff Dan Abbott and Allegan County Sheriff Frank Baker were part of the group.
The former president focused much of his time on what he referred to as “Biden Migrant Crime,” or crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.
“It’s a border bloodbath, and it’s destroying our country … it’s going to end on the day I take office,” Trump said.
Campaign staffers began passing out notes regarding his prepared remarks just before 1 p.m.
“Democrats in Michigan are failing to protect Americans from the illegal immigrants and drugs pouring across our Southern border,” the press packet reads.
“Illegal immigrants are taking advantage of Biden’s immigration system to victimize Americans across the state.”
The packet contained the names and photos of 11 United States citizens who allegedly lost their lives due to actions by individuals who entered the country illegally.
Ruby Garcia is the first person mentioned in the pages.
On stage he called her a “beautiful young woman [who] was savagely murdered by an illegal immigrant criminal.”
“It’s so horrible," he said. "Now Ruby’s loved ones are left grieving from this young woman; they said she had just the most contagious laughter. … I spoke to some of her family.”
READ MORE: Garcia family says Trump did not speak with them about Ruby's death
The former president told the gathered crowd, “We’re going to deliver justice for Ruby.”
“He’s not going to get away with it,” he said in regards to accused killer Brandon Ortiz-Vite.
The media packet distributed before his speech describes her death.
“On March 22, 25-year-old Ruby Garcia of Grand Rapids, Michigan, was murdered by an illegal alien criminal who had been previously deported under the Trump administration, but was let back in by Joe Biden. The illegal alien murderer shot Ruby repeatedly with an illegally obtained handgun and dumped her body on the side of the road,” the write-up on Garcia reads.
The story of Leah Gomez follows in the packet outlining his remarks.
“Last May, 22-year-old Leah Gomez from Kent County, Michigan, was sitting in her car with her one-year-old daughter when an illegal alien criminal with an outstanding warrant for attempted strangulation approached the vehicle and shot her at least 5 times, mercilessly executing her,” the packet reads.
Photos and write-ups on Maddie Hines, Laken Riley, Lizbeth Medina, Nazareth Claure, Maria Gonzalez, Terry & Brenda Aultman, Jeremy Caceres, Aiden Clark and Maria Rios are also included in the media packet.
Trump told the crowd Tuesday that if he is elected, he will quickly implement a “naval blockade on the cartels” in an effort to stem the flow of fentanyl and methamphetamines.
Towards the end of his speech Tuesday, Trump said he would be back in Michigan before the election.
“You win Michigan, you win the election,” he said before leaving.
MIGOP Chair Pete Hoekstra welcomed Trump to West Michigan ahead of Tuesday's event with 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."
Congresswoman Hillary Scholten criticized Trump's visit, saying he used Ruby Garcia's death as a political talking point.
Scholten's full statement reads:
“It’s shameful that the former president would use our community in mourning as the backdrop for his political theater.
“I’m continuing to pray for Ruby Garcia’s family, and our community, and continuing to work toward bipartisan immigration reform that secures our borders and keeps people safe, as well as policies to protect victims of domestic violence, and keep guns out of the hands of dangerous individuals.”
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