(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) An illegal alien is claiming that his reputation was destroyed, not because he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder, but because President Donald Trump highlighted his criminal case to condemn illegal immigration.
Ortiz-Vite, who is serving 39 to 102 years after pleading guilty in connection with the killing of Ruby Garcia, filed a handwritten federal lawsuit against President Donald Trump for $75 million after Trump used his case during the 2024 presidential campaign.
The Mexican national is also seeking a public apology from Trump and U.S. citizenship, claiming the president’s remarks about his case caused him humiliation and reputational harm, according to Fox News.
Ortiz-Vite drew national condemnation after he was arrested in connection with Garcia’s brutal killing. Garcia’s body, which had suffered gunshot wounds, was found dumped alongside a road in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in March 2024. At the time of her death, she was in a relationship with Ortiz-Vite.
WTF. Mexican national illegal alien Brandon Ortiz-Vite, who got decades in prison for kiIIing Ruby Garcia in Michigan, SUES Trump for “humiliating” him by highlighting his crime during the campaign
Ortiz is seeking a public apology, citizenship, and $75 million in damages pic.twitter.com/dETjCe2LEl
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) July 20, 2026
As first reported by Fox News, Ortiz-Vite is representing himself in the lawsuit and named Trump and White House spokesman Steven Cheung as defendants.
As noted by the outlet, Trump previously highlighted Ortiz-Vite as an example of “America’s problem” in connection with illegal immigration. Ortiz-Vite was featured in campaign advertisements criticizing illegal immigration alongside other illegal aliens convicted of heinous crimes.
But Ortiz-Vite now claims he was the victim of political targeting.
“I was put into a category. Who I was as a person no longer mattered! What only mattered was my race,” Ortiz-Vite wrote, according to Fox News. “My case and immigration status! Once again, it belittled me, shattered my dignity and what I was as a person.”
He implied the attention brought “shame” to his family name.
“The shame it brought to my family name is a reality I have to live with now,” Ortiz-Vite wrote. “I took full responsibility for my actions but for them to use my case for political gain on TV was unjust. Humiliating. When I thought it couldn’t get worse, it did. I was center stage in front of a nation, public scrutiny at its finest!”
Without mentioning Garcia, Ortiz-Vite lamented that his criminal case became a national headline.
“It all became clear to me when I first met with my court-appointed attorneys. They explained how my case had now gotten blown out of proportion and was now a high-profile case!” he wrote. “The shock in their eyes and the tears from mine were a reaction to my realization that I was living everyone’s worst nightmare! To be publicly infamous—a target! To the United States of America, from here everything went downhill. I was now labeled a cold-blooded murderer in the eyes of the people of this nation.”
He continued that the “anxiety and despair” he experienced compared to “no other.”
His lawsuit is likely to go nowhere, as courts typically review grievances filed by inmates before allowing them to proceed, according to Fox News. The illegal alien allegedly failed to cite any specific laws in the lawsuit.
