Michigan columnist warns Republicans will 'seize' on alleged illegal immigrant murders in critical swing state

Michigan Republicans could "seize" on illegal migrants committing crimes, a local editor warned on Monday.

Detroit News politics editor and columnist Chad Livengood argued that the GOP has "found the crime they were seeking" in the recent murder of Michigan woman Ruby Garcia allegedly at the hands of her boyfriend, illegal migrant Brandon Ortiz-Vite. This crime, he claimed, could inspire the "security mom" vote in the fall and "will almost assuredly be rolled up into TV, print and digital ads and marketed to voters."

"Whereas abortion rights galvanized soccer moms in 2022 to vote for Democrats, Republicans are banking on immigrant crime as the issue that will motivate so-called security moms this fall to come back to the GOP," Livengood wrote.

Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 25, has been charged with killing his girlfriend, Ruby Garcia, who was found with several gunshot wounds. (Kent County jail / GoFundMe)

He wrote that the details of the crime "read like a campaign ad Republican political consultants have been waiting to produce." He also noted that Garcia’s death marked the second recent murder allegedly committed by an illegal migrant in the past year, the first being Mexican national Luis Fabian Bernal-Sosa who was found guilty of the murder of Lisa Gomez in February.

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"[Grand Rapids strategist John] Yob and other Republican strategists see the deaths of Garcia and Gomez as something to politically seize on, despite studies showing illegal immigrants have a low homicide conviction rate. Yob argues that the localized crimes will hit home in west Michigan, fundamentally changing the dynamics of the presidential election in Trump's favor," Livengood wrote.

Meanwhile, Livengood highlighted Democrats such as Rep. Hillary Scholten, D-Mich., accusing Republicans of "glory hogging for the cameras" and trying "to politically grandstand over this issue."

U.S. Rep. Hillary Scholten attacked Republicans for harping on the issue of illegal immigration following Garcia's death. (Douglas Rissing via Getty Images)

"(Republicans) prefer grandstanding as opposed to actually getting anything done on the border, and it's a tragedy because things like what happened here in Grand Rapids will continue to happen if we don't take action," Scholten said.

Ortiz-Vite, who is currently behind bars at a jail in Kent County, Michigan, is being charged with murder, carjacking, carrying a concealed weapon and felony use of a firearm after the body of 25-year-old Ruby Garcia was discovered in downtown Grand Rapids. The pair had been in a romantic relationship at the time of the killing, police said.

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) spokesperson confirmed that Ortiz-Vite was in the country illegally at the time of Garcia's death and that he was previously deported to Mexico in 2020.

GOP lawmakers like Reps. John James and Richard Hudson are criticizing the Biden administration over the death of a 25-year-old Michigan woman (Getty Images/Kent County Jail)

House Republicans have criticized President Biden’s border policies and the administration’s refusal to act after reports of Garcia's death.

Fox News' Elizabeth Elkind and Kyle Morris contributed to this report.

Lindsay Kornick is an associate editor for Fox News Digital. Story tips can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and on Twitter: @lmkornick.