JD Vance ties illegal immigration to crime during campaign stop at Milwaukee police union

Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance sought to tie illegal immigration directly to crime in the country during a campaign stop at Milwaukee’s police union Friday.

Vance accused Vice President Kamala Harris of making police officers’ jobs “harder” as he claimed, without providing specifics, that the current administration was spending “millions of dollars” on shelter and medical care for “people who shouldn’t be here” rather than on local police departments.

“When you hear Republicans say every state is a border state, that is not just a slogan,” Vance said. “That is a sad reflection on the reality that we have drug cartels operating about as far north in this country as we possibly could.”

He delivered his remarks flanked by “Back The Blue” posters inside the Milwaukee Police Association. The union on Friday endorsed the Trump-Vance ticket. The organization has supported candidates on both sides of the aisle but endorsed a number of local Democrats, including Milwaukee Mayor Cavalier Johnson, in recent years.

Vance’s appearance in Milwaukee was his second to Wisconsin since he was named the Republican vice presidential nominee here last month. It came just 81 days before the November election. He spoke at a manufacturer in Eau Claire last week as Harris and Walz rallied thousands of supporters just miles up the road.

Wisconsin will play a critical role in deciding who wins the White House Nov. 5. Both campaigns have focused on the state in recent months. Harris plans to hold a rally in the city Tuesday — the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

At the Milwaukee police union, Vance railed against the Biden-Harris administration for about 20 minutes in front of a small crowd of law enforcement officials and local media.

His remarks primarily focused on crime and the border as he made the case that Republicans were “the party and the movement of law enforcement. He pivoted Republican attacks from Biden to Harris, the new Democratic presidential nominee, claiming the administration’s border policies were making communities less safe, “even as far north as Wisconsin.”

“As Republicans, we don't think the government should do everything, but the things that it needs to do, it has to do well — and public safety is at the very top of the list,” Vance said.

When asked at one point about his past comments on other groups of immigrants, including Italians and Irish, Vance referenced the fictional 2002 film "Gangs of New York," which featured rival gangs of different backgrounds battling for territory.

"We know that when you have these massive ethnic enclaves forming in our country, it can sometimes lead to higher crime rates," Vance said.

Research has shown migrants are no more likely to commit crimes than native-born Americans.

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, said Milwaukee Police Association's endorsement of the ticket does them a "disservice" to police's efforts to build trust with diverse communities.

"It's a real white supremacist platform that they're running on. It's very dangerous, and it offers no real solutions to the problems that we have, except for division and hate-mongering and cruelty," Neumann-Ortiz said after Vance's visit.

Vance "continues to promote lies about equating immigrants with increased crime," she said, noting that data shows most fentanyl is brought in through legal ports of entry by U.S. citizens. She added a mass deportation would lead to an "economic crisis."

Vance also addressed questions about the campaign. Asked whether Trump should focus on policy instead of personal attacks on Harris on the campaign trail, something some allies have suggested in recent weeks, he brushed aside the question.

“I don’t think the president needs to pivot, and if I told him that, I can guess what he’d say,” Vance said, noting he was speaking on public safety issues Friday. “My only advice to my running mate is be yourself and let people see who you are.”

He dismissed an ABC News/Washington Post/Ipsos poll released Friday showing Harris’ running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, trending more popular than Vance. He doesn’t “put much stock in polls,” Vance said, before attacking Walz over his handling of the 2020 George Floyd protests in Minneapolis.

Democrats, meanwhile, railed against Republicans’ insistence that they are the party of law and order.

At a press conference held across the street from the police union before Vance spoke, they pointed to Trump’s 34 felony convictions and underscored his connection to the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as evidence he does not support law enforcement. Well over 100 officers were injured during the attack, and Trump has said he would pardon rioters convicted after the riot.

“It’s kind of ironic that he’s standing with police officers while he’s the running mate for a man who is a 34-time convicted felon,” said Harry Dunn, a former U.S. Capitol Police officer who defended the Capitol on Jan. 6.

Dunn said it was “disheartening to see people that I consider my brothers in blue” endorse the Trump ticket. “This is not the right choice for this country, nor is it for public safety,” he said.

Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley noted that crime in Milwaukee has been on a decline over the past several years, including homicide statistics. And he credited the Biden administration for providing post-pandemic support for communities.

“If we want to go backwards to the chaos, if we want to go backwards to the crime of Trump’s mess, then we can,” Crowley said. “But just know that we’re going to pay dearly for that.”

Following his remarks at the union, Vance visited Sobelman’s Pub and Grill, a restaurant known for its burgers and bloody marys on the west side of Milwaukee. He shook hands with diners and took a photo next to a large bloody mary with a whole chicken on top.

Customers said they were surprised by the visit, with some remarking they just came in for lunch.

One diner, Lance Wagner of Janesville, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he arrived in town the night before to watch the Milwaukee Brewers. He received a gift certificate to Sobelman’s at a nearby store and decided to stop in for lunch.

“We were so fortunate because we’re huge Trump fans,” Wagner said. He said he was supporting Trump and Vance because he agreed with them on “economy, immigration, the border, just a better America.”

“We lucked out,” Wagner said.

Alison Dirr and Hope Karnopp of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: JD Vance rails on illegal immigration at Milwaukee police union stop