Former President Donald Trump is looking to put President Biden on his heels over immigration and border security ahead of the general election, warning that the Democrat’s policies have sparked a “bloodbath” in the U.S.
Mr. Trump says Mr. Biden‘s soft approach to the southern border has sparked a migrant-fueled crime wave across the country that has left a trail of death and destruction.
“Under crooked Joe Biden, every state is a border state and every town is now a border town because Joe Biden has brought all the carnage and chaos and killing from all over the world and dumped it straight into our backyards,” Mr. Trump said Tuesday in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Mr. Trump said the border was secure on his watch, and pledged he will do it again if voters give Mr. Biden the boot in the November election.
“Not one more innocent life should be lost to Biden migrant crime,” he said. “The first step to restoring safety in America is to fire crooked Joe Biden.”
Mr. Trump highlighted the murder of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia in Grand Rapids last month. The suspect, Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, entered the country illegally from Mexico.
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Mr. Trump said that his administration had tossed Mr. Ortiz-Vite out of the country, but the Biden administration “let him back and let him stay and he viciously killed Ruby.”
Similar stories are playing out across the country — including in Georgia where Laken Riley, a nursing student, was abducted and killed, Mr. Trump said.
Voter concerns over immigration and the increased crime and flow of drugs related to it has become a major political liability for Mr. Biden, particularly in the rematch with Mr. Trump.
A recent Emerson College poll found the economy was the top issue for registered Michigan voters, followed by immigration, threats to Democracy and health care.
Among voters who cared most about immigration, 84% backed Mr. Trump, compared to 11% for Mr. Biden.
The Biden campaign and national Democrats, meanwhile, are blaming Mr. Trump for the chaos at the southern border.
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Looking to step on Mr. Trump’s message Tuesday, the Democratic National Committee erected billboards in Michigan accusing him of causing the border chaos by blowing up an immigration deal on Capitol Hill.
“Donald Trump broke the border,” the billboard says. “He and MAGA Republicans killed the bipartisan border deal. Donald Trump just wants chaos, not solutions.”
Mr. Trump rallied Republicans earlier this year to stop a bipartisan immigration deal that sought to stem the flow of illegal border crossings and included additional assistance for Ukraine.
“While President Biden worked across the aisle to find a bipartisan solution to secure our border, Trump directed MAGA Republicans to block the toughest, fairest border deal in decades — putting his own political ambitions ahead of border security,” DNC spokesperson Stephanie Justice said in a statement Tuesday.
The Republican National Committee also got in on the action, unveiling BidenBloodbath.com, which puts a spotlight on the crimes committed by migrants let in by the Biden administration.
“Biden created the worst border crisis in U.S. history by unleashing his open-border policies. He has emboldened illegal aliens and cartels as the invasion at the southern border continues at a breakneck pace,” the website says.
— Mallory Wilson contributed to this report.
