Former President Donald Trump said Monday he would “love” to see the family of Ruby Garcia — the 25-year-old allegedly killed by her illegal immigrant boyfriend in Michigan — at his Tuesday rally in the Mitten State.
“I’d love to have her family there if they’d like to be there,” Trump said in an interview with Detroit radio host Justin Barclay.
Garcia, of Grand Rapids, was found dead along a highway with multiple gunshot wounds to her head on March 22. Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, later confessed to shooting Garcia in her car, turning himself in to police with blood on his clothes, according to local reports.
Ortiz-Vite said he shot Garcia after they had an argument, and he subsequently moved her body out of the car and drove away, according to local reports citing court documents.
Ortiz-Vite — who was romantically involved with Garcia — was in the US illegally and had been deported in 2020 after previously crossing the border with Mexico unlawfully, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson told The Post.
“Brandon Ortiz-Vite, a 25-year-old citizen of Mexico, initially entered the United States unlawfully and received approval for deferred action under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. His status under DACA expired May 10, 2019. Upon his arrest on local charges on Aug. 30, 2020, he was deemed to be inadmissible under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA),” the ICE rep said.
It continued, “Ortiz-Vite was arrested by Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) Detroit on Aug. 31, 2020, and served a notice to appear. He was ordered removed by an immigration judge with the Justice Department’s Executive Office of Immigration Review (EOIR) Sept. 24, 2020, and was removed to Mexico Sept. 29, 2020.”
“At an unknown date and location Ortiz-Vite reentered the United States without inspection by an immigration official.”
Ortiz-Vite has been charged in Kent County with felony murder, open murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon and use of a firearm in the commission of a felony.
Garcia’s family and friends gathered Friday for her funeral.
“Ruby’s love for plants and traveling came nothing close to her affectionate smile that illuminated the room or contagious laughter that recreated the atmosphere,” her obituary read. “She cared so deeply for the people around her- so kind and passionate. She’s made an impact on many lives. She will be forever missed.”
Garcia’s family did not respond to an inquiry from The Post.
Trump’s campaign has ramped up its 2024 messaging to focus on immigration in battleground states. The 45th president will travel to Michigan and Wisconsin, two states that the 77-year-old narrowly won in 2016 and barely lost in 2020, in an effort to sway voters on his border policies.
“Under Crooked Joe Biden, EVERY state is now a border state. EVERY town is now a Border Town — because Joe Biden has brought the carnage, chaos, and killing from all over world, and dumped it straight into our own backyards,” Trump spokesperson Karoline Leavitt told The Post. “President Trump will bring back safety and security and put Americans in Michigan, Wisconsin, and every state across the country first again.”
Last month, Trump met with the family of Laken Riley, a 22-year-old Georgia nursing student who police say was murdered by an illegal migrant from Venezuela.
