Vance takes aim at Harris, Walz on immigration, policing in Michigan speech: What he said

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance delivered a wide-ranging speech in Michigan aimed at refocusing the presidential race on immigration and policing Wednesday, blasting Vice President Kamala Harris and her running mate's handling of both issues on a day they, too, were expected in the battleground state.

Vance spoke to members of the media and high-profile Republicans from the steps of the Shelby Township Police Department in Macomb County, where he said local law enforcement briefed him on recent allegations of crimes committed by those who entered the country illegally. He bashed Harris' management of the U.S. southern border and a surge in illegal crossings during her tenure in office. Vance promised that if voters send former President Donald Trump back to the White House, they will expand the border wall, make it harder for businesses to hire those in the country illegally and launch a mass deportation effort, among other moves.

"We do not consent to an invasion of this country from millions of people who shouldn't be here," Vance said.

The Trump campaign has repeatedly tried to tie immigration to rising crime, including during a visit by the former president to Michigan earlier this year. Early data from the FBI indicate a drop in murders and violent crime in 2023 from the previous year. And a comprehensive national study covering 150 years found consistently lower incarceration rates for immigrants compared to those born in the U.S.

In addition to attacking Harris' border policies, Vance criticized her pick of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz as her running mate, lambasting his signature on legislation to allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses in his state. Vance also decried civil unrest during Black Lives Matter protests in Minneapolis, when Walz was in office.

In 2020, Shelby Township Police Chief Robert Shelide was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation into social media posts in response to Black Lives Matter protests prompted that year by the murder of George Floyd and death of Breonna Taylor, who was shot and killed by police.

"Trump threatening to deploy the military. I have a better idea: unleash the real cops and let them take care of these barbarians. I promise it will be over in 24 hours," read one post, according to a screenshot from the deleted social media account in question. At the time, Shelide issued an apology and township officials suspended him. He spoke at Vance's campaign event Wednesday, welcoming Trump's running mate to Michigan.

Vance touted support the Trump campaign has enjoyed from law enforcement and said its message on policing won't turn off Black voters whose support they're trying to win. "It is voters of color who benefit the most from public safety," he said. "Of course there are bad apples here and there, but most people recognize the police are there to make them safe."

Vance made the pitch that the Trump campaign has policies attractive to voters of color while also defending recent comments from Trump attacking Harris' racial identity. "I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said at the National Association of Black Journalists (NABJ) convention last week. Harris is the daughter of immigrants — a Jamaican father and Indian mother — and identifies as Black and South Asian.

Vance said he wasn't upset by Trump's comments. "And I didn't take it as an attack on Kamala Harris' biracial background at all. What I took it as was an attack on Kamala Harris being a chameleon. She pretends to be one thing when she's in front of one audience, she pretends to be something else when she's in front of another audience," Vance said. He went on to accuse her of taking positions out of step with how she's presented herself publicly. He pointed to support Harris previously voiced for the movement to defund police and how she's highlighted her prosecutorial background on the campaign trail.

Michigan voters "aren’t buying what Buckeye JD Vance is selling," said Harris campaign communications director Alyssa Bradley in a statement issued ahead of his visit to the state. "The more they learn about him and his dark vision to drag our country backwards, the more they’re showing up to support Vice President Kamala Harris, the only candidate in this race who is fighting for Michiganders and their freedoms," she added.

The Harris campaign has previously touted a recent drop in unlawful border crossings and pointed out that Vance opposed a bipartisan border bill endorsed by the union that represents Border Patrol agents. Trump came out against the border deal, characterizing it as a political non-starter in an election year in which immigration would once again become a political hot potato.

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Since Trump picked his running mate, Vance's past comments have sparked new controversies for the Republican ticket, such as remarks he made during a Fox News interview in 2021 stating that prominent Democrats without biological children — including Harris — don't have a stake in the future of the U.S.

Trump has stood by his running mate while saying his decision to pick Vance wouldn't impact his chances in November. Asked last week whether Vance would be ready to assume the presidency during a discussion at the NABJ convention, Trump said he respects Vance. "But I will say this — and I think this is well-documented — historically, the vice president in terms of the election does not have any impact I mean virtually no impact," Trump said.

Asked by the Detroit Free Press Wednesday whether that was the response he wanted to hear from the former president, Vance said he agrees with Trump's assessment. "I think it's a common sense observation," he said, before launching a litany of attacks against Walz.

Free Press staff writer Christina Hall contributed to this report.

Contact Clara Hendrickson at chendrickson@freepress.com or 313-296-5743. Follow her on X, previously called Twitter, @clarajanehen.

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