Vance says Trump can ‘deliver security in our streets’ during Shelby Township stop

SHELBY TOWNSHIP — Surrounded by local law enforcement and airing his intent to “back the blue,” Republican vice presidential candidate and U.S. Sen. JD Vance stopped by the Shelby Township Police Department Aug. 7 to pitch Republican presidential candidate Donald  Trump’s campaign platform on crime, immigration and more.

During Vance’s speech, he delivered sharp attacks on the Democratic presidential candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, whom he called “border czar.” The Ohio senator accused Harris of wanting to make it harder for police to do their job, and he blamed her for criminals entering via the U.S. southern border.

In contrast, Vance said former President Trump deported “illegal aliens,” partially built a border wall and “did not grant mass amnesty.”

Vance urged voters to help law enforcement by giving them a federal government that makes it easier for them to keep Americans safe.

“I’d ask you to vote for a candidate who wants to support our police officers, not make their lives harder,” he said. “I’d ask you to support a candidate who wants to make it easier to deport illegal aliens and not harder. I’d ask you to support the candidate who has shown that he can deliver security in our streets.

“We just have to give him the opportunity to govern, and that’s President Donald J. Trump.”

 

Local criminal cases mentioned
During the event, multiple speakers brought up local criminal cases that allegedly involved people who are unauthorized to be in the country.

Before Vance spoke, Shelby Township police Chief Robert Shelide said his department has faced three cases over the past few months that involved suspects who illegally entered the U.S.

“Two of those acts have been horrific, and the third involved an illegal Venezuelan who shot a coworker and has now since fled the state of Michigan,” Shelide said. “Public safety is everyone’s business, and we need leadership in Washington that supports that.”

Vance said that while Shelby Township is geographically far from the southern border, “It’s not far away from its problems.”

Vance mentioned a case in which the defendant allegedly sexually assaulted a minor.

“And I heard just earlier about a criminal who was deported from this community who came back in and then raped an 11-year-old girl, just in the past couple of months,” Vance said.

“I’m the father of a 2-year-old girl. I cannot imagine having a government that cares so little about you that they’re letting people who come into our communities get deported and come back in, and then they rape our children,” Vance said.

On July 30, the Macomb County Prosecutor’s Office announced that a suspect identified as Joel Quintana-Dominguez, 32, from Shelby Township, was arraigned on three counts of first-degree criminal sexual conduct with a person under 13 years old while the defendant is 17 or older.

Prosecutors said Quintana-Dominguez sexually assaulted a relative multiple times this year, and they also said he “has an immigration hold from the Department of Homeland Security.”

The office of Quintana-Dominguez’s listed attorney, Neal J. Brand, declined to comment about his client.

Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido also briefly spoke at the event and said that “in Macomb County, we follow the law,” including working with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on cases involving undocumented people.

“We need to be clear that bad actions by the undocumented should not have a chilling effect on those who came here legally, like our ancestors,” Lucido said.

“However, the problem today is that law enforcement is challenging enough without adding immigration issues into the equation. That should never have happened here. This onslaught of undocumented crimes has brought a drastic impact on our law enforcement partners,” Lucido said.

 

‘Unless you have a border, there is no peace’
When Vance followed his remarks with a press conference, C & G Newspapers asked about comments Vance had made earlier that week.

In a discussion with conservative radio host Hugh Hewitt, Vance said “the Iranians have leverage over us,” and he suspected that “probably a number of Iranian-related militias” have terrorist agents who have entered the U.S.

In Shelby Township, Vance was asked about that leverage and if he believed that these agents could be plotting a terrorist attack in the U.S. similar to the Oct. 7, 2023, one in Israel. In response, Vance confirmed that he believes that Iranian-backed militia groups are in the U.S. “because we know thousands of people have come across the U.S. southern border who have ties to terrorism.”

“Well, it really endangers your country, and I fear we’re going to have a very bad headline here and a lot of people who could lose their lives because Kamala Harris refuses to keep terrorists out of our country,” Vance said.

“It’s disgraceful, but it highlights the fact that unless you have a border, there is no peace and there is no security for American citizens, even in a place as far north as Shelby Township, Michigan.”

In a press release, the Michigan Democratic Party called Vance’s Shelby Township stop “a stunt visit where he will lie to Michiganders about his and Trump’s record and agenda.” The release also accused Vance of “making weird comments about people without children while constantly voting against reproductive care like birth control or IVF.”

MDP Chair Lavora Barnes predicted that Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris and her newly named running mate for vice president, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, would use a Detroit appearance that same day to present Michiganders with a “drastically different campaign and a brighter vision for a future they can believe in.”

“Don’t be fooled, Vance will only fearmonger and spread misinformation at his event — because Republicans know they don’t have solutions to offer Michiganders,” Barnes said. “This rally will make it crystal clear that he doesn’t understand Michigan and he sure doesn’t understand our values.”