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The killing of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia in Michigan became a political flashpoint after a Mexican national who had entered the country illegally was charged in connection with her death. Garcia's case was thrust further into the national spotlight Tuesday, when Donald Trump invoked her death in a campaign speech to attack President Joe Biden’s border policies — and claimed to have been in touch with Garcia's family.
“They said she had just this most contagious laughter, and when she walked into a room, she lit up that room," Trump said about Garcia during a campaign visit to Grand Rapids, Michigan. "And I’ve heard that from so many people; I spoke to some of her family."
That was news to Garcia's family, who was watching Trump's speech live on TV. Her sister, Mavi Garcia, told NBC affiliate WOOD-TV that they were shocked to hear Trump say he'd been in contact with her family.
"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," she said.
Ruby Garcia's body was found on a highway in Grand Rapids in March. Brandon Ortiz-Vite, a Mexican national who was deported in 2020 but re-entered the U.S. without immigration authorities' knowledge, has been charged with murder. News outlets have described Ortiz-Vite as Garcia's boyfriend, but her sister told WOOD-TV that their relationship hadn't reached that stage.
In his speech on Tuesday, Trump incorrectly said that Biden "took him back and let him back in, and let him stay." He also appeared to mix up Ruby Garcia's age; he first said that she was 25 and then later referred to her incorrectly as a 17-year-old.
Trump's violent and dehumanizing rhetoric about immigrants has escalated in recent months, and he has held up victims of violent crimes allegedly committed by undocumented immigrants to attack Biden's border policies.
In an interview with CNN on Tuesday, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer called out Trump for "capitalizing on a horrible tragedy that happened here" and accused him of trying to "score political points" off the family's pain.
Mavi Garcia also criticized Trump for politicizing her sister’s death.
“It’s always been about illegal immigrants,” she told WOOD-TV. “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?”