In a speech in Michigan earlier this month, Donald Trump adopted extremely controversial rhetoric by referring to immigrants deemed illegal in the country as “animals” and “not humans”. In this context, Trump, accompanied by law enforcement officials, spoke about criminal cases involving suspects who are in the country illegally, warning of an alleged threat of violence and chaos if he is not elected in November.

According to a Reuters report, he continued his speech in Green Bay, Wisconsin, using a similar tone, describing the upcoming election as the nation’s “final battle”. Trump brings up specific cases of victims allegedly murdered by illegal immigrants to bolster his position, ignoring challenges from victims' relatives.

“The Democrats say, 'Please don't call them animals. They're humans.' I said, 'No, they're not humans, they're not humans, they're animals,'" said Trump, president from 2017 to 2021”.

In his xenophobic speeches, Trump constantly claims that immigrants who illegally cross the border with Mexico have escaped from prisons in their countries of origin, contributing to the increase in crime in the United States.

On the other hand, Joe Biden has been critical of Trump's rhetoric, accusing him of promoting division, hatred and violence. In addition, the former president was accused of not supporting legislation whose proposal would strengthen security at the southern border and reduce illegal immigration.

“Some 38% of Republicans cited immigration as the country's top issue in a Reuters/Ipsos poll released in late February, as did about one in five independents. Trump frequently claims without evidence that migrants have caused a spike in violent crime in U.S. cities. On Tuesday, he repeated an unfounded claim that Latin American nations are intentionally sending their criminals to the United States”, according to Reuters.

In the run-up to the election contest in November, Michigan and Wisconsin are two swing states that could determine whether Biden or Trump will occupy the White House next year, especially given the narrow margin by which Biden beat Trump in those states in 2020.

It should be noted that, although Biden and Trump have already secured their presidential nominations, both will participate in their parties' presidential primaries in Wisconsin. Biden's team is keeping a close eye on protest votes from Democrats unhappy with their support for Israel during the conflict with Hamas in Gaza. In the Michigan primary in February, more than 100,000 Democrats voted “uncommitted” in protest of Biden’s Gaza policy. A similar option will be available in Wisconsin, aiming to entice 20,682 voters to mark their ballots as “uninstructed”, which represents Biden's margin of victory over Trump in the state in 2020, according to the Reuters report.

These events demonstrate the complexity of local political dynamics and the influence of external issues on elections.