In a speech delivered in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Trump, the Republican presidential candidate, accused Biden of paving the way for bloodshed at the border due to the influx of illegal immigrants into the country. He reiterated his claims that neighboring countries are sending "prisoners, murderers, drug dealers, the mentally ill, terrorists, and the worst of their citizens" to the United States.
During his approximately 45-minute speech on Tuesday night, he described illegal immigrants as "animals, not human beings," echoing derogatory language he has often used in his election campaigns. The Republican candidate, who appeared alongside several law enforcement officers, also detailed various criminal cases involving suspects who are in the United States illegally, warning that violence and chaos would destroy the country if he does not win the elections on November 5. He adopted a similar tone in a subsequent speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin, calling the 2024 election "the ultimate battle" for the nation.
While discussing Lakin Riley, a 22-year-old nursing student from Georgia who is alleged to have been killed by an illegal immigrant from Venezuela, Trump stated that some immigrants are not human. He added, "Democrats say please don't call them animals. They are human... But I say: No, they're not human... they are animals."
In response, Michael Tyler, director of communications for the Biden campaign, told reporters before Trump's speeches, "Donald Trump is engaging in extremist rhetoric that fuels division, hate, and violence in our country." Trump often asserts in his controversial speeches that many immigrants crossing the border illegally have escaped from prisons and shelters in their home countries and are fueling violent crime in the United States. Meanwhile, the Democratic president accused his rival in the upcoming presidential election of encouraging Republicans in Congress not to pass this year's legislation that would enhance security at the southern border and implement measures aimed at curbing illegal immigration.
