After former President Donald Trump claimed he spoke with family members of murder victim Ruby Garcia, her sister Mavi confirmed Trump had lied about communicating with them.
During a rally in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump briefly mentioned Garcia, a 25-year-old woman allegedly murdered by her boyfriend, an undocumented immigrant from Mexico. He portrayed her as a vibrant young woman, describing her infectious laughter and charismatic presence.
He said:
“Ruby’s loved ones and community are left grieving for this incredible young woman."
"They said she had just this most contagious laughter and when she walked into a room, she lit up that room — and I’ve heard that from so many people. I spoke to some of her family.”
You can hear what Trump said in the video below.
But in an interview with a local TV station and various news outlets, Mavi Garcia clarified that Trump had not reached out to their family.
She expressed shock and disappointment at Trump's misrepresentation, highlighting how he politicized her sister's tragic death by remarking that "Michigan communities are being ravaged by a new form of crime," which he referred to as President Joe Biden's "border bloodbath" and "migrant crime."
She said:
“He did not speak with any of us, so it was kind of shocking seeing that he had said that he had spoke with us, and misinforming people on live TV."
“It’s always been about illegal immigrants. Nobody really speaks about when Americans do heinous crimes, and it’s kind of shocking why he would just bring up illegals. What about Americans who do heinous crimes like that?”
"The focus should be on my sister right now, who she was in life."
You can hear what she said in the video below.
Trump's claim is all the more egregious considering the actual circumstances of Garcia's death.
Authorities reported that Ruby Garcia was discovered fatally shot on a highway close to Grand Rapids on March 22.
Brandon Ortiz-Vite, identified as the victim's boyfriend and a Mexican national residing in the United States without legal authorization, was apprehended several days after the incident and purportedly admitted to the crime.
Law enforcement officials subsequently revealed that Ortiz-Vite entered the country as a minor and had been previously deported in September 2020, during the tenure of former President Trump.
Trump was swiftly called out for his lie.
As immigration becomes a focal point for the 2024 election, with Trump positioning it as a key issue, his remarks continue to draw both ridicule and criticism. Trump has vowed to take a tough stance on immigration, promising significant measures if he were to return to the White House, including what he's termed "the largest domestic deportation operation in American history."
Trump has continued to garner criticism for praising authoritarian leaders and repeating anti-immigrant and racist language.
In December he claimed that immigrants are "poisoning the blood of our country," echoing fascists like genocidal Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler, who wrote about "blood poisoning" in his book Mein Kampf.
The former President has ramped up his violent and inflammatory rhetoric in recent months, telling a crowd in November that his political opponents are "vermin" that he must "root out," a declaration that angered people on both sides of the aisle to say nothing of historians who've sounded the alarm about what the 2024 election could signal for the future of American democracy.
