Assailing ‘Biden’s Border Bloodbath,’ Trump Focuses on Immigration at 2 Events

A group of more than 1,000 illegal immigrants walks toward a U.S. Border Patrol field processing center after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

As Americans’ discontent with illegal immigration continues escalating—and the presidential race heats up—former President Donald Trump is slated to participate in a pair of events focusing on the crisis.

On April 2, the presumed Republican presidential nominee plans to make remarks in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

That’s the latest U.S. community expressing outrage over a violent crime allegedly committed by an illegal immigrant. A 25-year-old woman was slain on March 22; the suspect is a previously deported Mexican national.

On April 4, President Trump is “confirmed to attend” the “Border911” Gala, a fundraiser for a nonprofit, nonpartisan group that Trump-era deportation expert Tom Homan heads.

The organization works to educate the public by sharing “horrific, true stories about what is really happening at our borders,” its website states. The group also seeks to empower citizens to take action “to stop this humanitarian crisis plaguing our communities.”

Surge Fuels Citizens’ Worries

Immigration has become a hot-button issue as President Trump, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, and his presumed Democrat opponent, President Joe Biden, vie for reelection this fall.

When President Biden took office in 2021, he reversed many of the tightened immigration policies that President Trump enacted during the prior four years; the Biden administration has touted a more “welcoming” approach.

As a result, U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers have been encountering record numbers of illegal immigrants between ports of entry. This February’s levels of “encounters” reached the highest level ever recorded for that month: 189,922.

During that same month, Monmouth University released a poll showing soaring levels of public concern over illegal immigration. Researchers found that 61 percent of Americans surveyed considered illegal immigration to be a “very serious problem,” a 16-percent hike since 2015.

President Trump and President Biden both visited the Texas–Mexico border in February. While President Biden blamed Congress for inaction on key immigration issues, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, faults President Biden for failing to enforce existing laws.

Republican presidential candidate former President Donald Trump talks with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott during a visit to the U.S.–Mexico border on Feb. 29, 2024, in Eagle Pass, Texas. Eric Gay/AP Photo

Lots of Fuss Over One Word

In announcing President Trump’s Michigan appearance, his campaign said he would address “Biden’s Border Bloodbath.”

In doing so, the former president’s team threw the term “bloodbath” back at media outlets that recently launched into a feeding frenzy over that word.

President Trump invoked the word “bloodbath” during a March 16 speech in Dayton, Ohio. He said that was a figurative use of the term, not meant to be taken literally. He made the remark while predicting that President Biden’s electric-vehicle mandates will lay waste to the U.S. automobile industry.

But some media outlets interpreted his statement otherwise. They asserted or implied that President Trump was advocating a violent response from his supporters.

In a video posted on social media, President Trump said President Biden’s campaign “and the fake news media have a new hoax ... the bloodbath hoax, taking my words completely out of context.”

President Trump reiterated that he was referring to President Biden’s “extreme electric vehicle mandate” decimating the auto industry. The mandate will “ship every last American auto job and auto-manufacturing job to China,” President Trump said, vowing to rebuild the U.S. auto-manufacturing industry.

President Joe Biden delivers remarks about immigration and border security at the Brownsville Station in Olmito, Texas, on Feb. 29, 2024. Cheney Orr/Getty Images

“While I was speaking metaphorically, a real bloodbath is occurring right now. ... It’s Biden’s border bloodbath,” he said.

President Trump blamed the Biden administration for “setting loose thousands of unvetted, unscreened military-age men into the United States from parts unknown.”

“People are pouring into our country at levels that we’ve never seen before,” he said.

Although federal agencies say officers have encountered 9 million illegal immigrants, President Trump suggested the actual number is closer to 15 million.

“That’s almost bigger than any state in the union,” he said.

“Every day, innocent citizens are being killed, stabbed, shot, raped and murdered because of ‘Biden migrant crime.’ ... We call it ‘Biden migrant crime’ because he’s responsible for it.

“When I’m your president, we’re going to end this disgrace and we’re going to stop Biden’s border bloodbath.”

Suspect Came Back After Deportation

President Trump’s video was posted just hours before the death of Ruby Garcia, 25, was discovered in Grand Rapids.

An illegal immigrant is accused of killing her after returning to the United States; he had been deported to his native land, Mexico, in 2020, while President Trump was still in office.

Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, has been charged with five offenses: felony murder, open murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon, and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony. The three most serious charges carry a potential life prison term, one of which comes with no possibility of parole.

On March 24, two days after Ms. Garcia’s body was found along a highway, Mr. Ortiz-Vite contacted police about Ms. Garcia’s death. Officers arrested him and booked him into the Kent County Jail in Michigan.

Detectives learned that the pair were “in a romantic relationship at the time of this incident,” the Michigan State Police said in a March 27 statement.

Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, an illegal immigrant from Mexico, is charged in the slaying of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids, Mich., on March 22, 2024. Kent County, Michigan, Sheriff's Office

Ms. Garcia’s slaying struck a month after an illegal immigrant was accused of killing 22-year-old Georgia nursing student Laken Riley.

Authorities identified the suspect in Ms. Riley’s slaying as Jose Ibarra, 26. A native of Venezuela, he was allowed to stay in the United States after illegally entering in 2022.

Mr. Ibarra was jailed in Athens, Georgia, on multiple charges stemming from Ms. Riley’s death, including murder, assault, and kidnapping. Police have said that the two were believed to be strangers. Ms. Riley was attacked while jogging. She died from blunt-force trauma, according to authorities.

President Trump met with Ms. Riley’s loved ones prior to a rally in the Peach State and paid homage to Ms. Riley during his speech.

Similarly, he is expected to address Ms. Garcia’s death during his April 2 appearance in Grand Rapids, the city where she was found slain; she suffered from gunshot wounds and other injuries, officials said.

The homicides of Ms. Riley and Ms. Garcia stand out amid a string of violent crimes that illegal immigrants are accused of committing.

Rep. Pete Hoekstra (R-Mich.), chair of the Michigan Republican Party, lamented Ms. Garcia’s slaying.

“Joe Biden is allowing an invasion at our border and now West Michigan is dealing with the preventable murders in our own backyard,” he said in a March 28 social media post.

“President Trump will secure our border and protect Michigan families when elected in November. I look forward to welcoming him back in West Michigan...for this important discussion.”

Rep. Rachel Hood (D-Mich.) wrote that Ms. Garcia was a victim of domestic violence because the suspect was her “boyfriend.”

“This man’s actions have captured the attention of ruthless politicians who want to devalue immigrants in the United States,” she wrote on her social media account.

Ms. Hood said Ms. Garcia’s family would receive justice, and she denounced President Trump for bringing “hateful rhetoric” to Michigan.

But online commenters lashed out against Ms. Hood, saying that an “open border” was to blame for Ms. Garcia’s death.

Trump to Appear at Border911 Gala

Tom Homan, noted for successfully deporting immigrants while he served the Trump administration, has publicly declared that he will do everything he can to halt illegal immigration and deport violators.

In a speech to the Trumpettes organization, a group that was honoring President Trump at the Mar-a-Lago Club and Resort, Mr. Homan declared his commitment to fixing the border crisis within 90 days after President Trump returns to the White House.

Mr. Homan, in a video message posted to the Border911 social media account, said he has banded together with “the most distinguished border experts in the world” to combat the border crisis with a grassroots effort.

Then-ICE Deputy Director Thomas Homan at a press conference about immigration enforcement and border security, in Washington on Dec. 5, 2017. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

The group’s fundraising gala is set for April 4 at Mar-a-Lago, which President Trump owns and calls home. The event is closed to media outlets, organizers said.

Ticket prices ranged from $1,200 to $100,000, according to promotional materials. In his video, Mr. Homan said money generated from the gala will help experts “spend the next year educating people about why border security matters.”

He urged people to stop grousing, “get off the couch and take some action.”

His group has begun holding “solutions-oriented” border meetings since at least May 2023.

A statement publicizing Border911’s event last year in Jefferson County, New York, said: “Border911 reveals the true stories and consequences of America’s national security crisis.”

Border911 stated that it brings together “experts, citizens, and elected officials to empower and encourage open, honest, and informed dialogue surrounding the United States’ borders.”