The campaign for former President Donald Trump wrapped up a three-day bus tour of Wisconsin with a town hall event Wednesday night, Sept. 25, headlined by former GOP presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy.
During his remarks and as he took questions from the audience, Ramaswamy defended positions adopted by the Trump campaign and Republican National Commitee (RNC) that call for mass deportations of illegal immigrants and a ban on early voting.
After the event, Ramaswamy told reporters he believed policies enacting the 'largest deportation program' in U.S. history would be both proper and popular.
"No migration without consent. Think about the nation and its land as a body," Ramaswamy said. "Consent should only be granted to migrants who benefit America -- that's a key part, who benefit America. And third is those who enter without consent must be removed."
A University of Wisconsin-Madison study estimated more than 10,000 undocumented workers perform about 70% of the labor on Wisconsin dairy farms, according to an April 2023 survey.
When asked about the impact mass deportations would have on Wisconsin dairy farms, as well as what should happen with migrants referred to as "Dreamers" -- those who entered the U.S. illegally as children but have lived most of their lives in the U.S., Ramaswamy said there's room for immigrants who benefit the country, but did not specify whether migrant workers or Dreamers should be allowed to stay.
"The question is what benefits the citizens who are already here?" he said. "Is there a level of immigration, a kind of immigration that benefits the people who live here? Of course."
During the town hall segment, a person asked Ramaswamy about early voting and expressed concern Wisconsin GOP leaders were encouraging conservatives to vote absentee in the upcoming fall election.
Ramaswamy said he believed Republican voters should use the options at their disposal this year, including early voting. However, he maintained if Republicans win back control of Congress and the White House, they should enact federal laws that only allow voting on Election Day using paper ballots.
When questioned after the event, Ramaswamy said there should be exceptions allowed in that scenario.
"Look, I think the general principal is what's the default? Single day voting on Election Day," he said. "Obviously, there are exceptions to the rule. Is someone handicapped? Does somebody have an actual legitimate reason not to show up on Election Day? You always have exceptions to the rules, like you have for emergency issues."
When asked whether such a policy would lead to more bureaucracy and gray areas over who would be allowed to vote early, Ramaswamy said the Americans with Disabilities Act would be a guideline and added exceptions would also be made for people who had to work on Election Day once it became a national holiday.
Democrats have said such calls amount to voter suppression and are part of an effort to keep sowing distrust in elections.
While a release from the Trump campaign said RNC Co-chair Lara Trump would attend Wednesday's event in Waukesha, she was not in attendance. Joining Ramaswamy were Texas Congressman Troy Nehls, who recently became the subject of a House Ethics Committee investigation into whether he used campaign money for personal gain, former Department of Defense chief of staff Kash Patel, Moms for Liberty Ozaukee County Chair Scarlett Johnson and Schimming.
The bus tour began Monday, Sept. 23 in western Wisconsin, making stops in Hudson and Eau Claire before swinging east Tuesday for stops in Green Bay and Beaver Dam. Wednesday's stops included events in Watertown and Waukesha.
With the election a little more than a month away, the campaigns of both Mr. Trump and Vice President Kamala Harris are sending surrogates to Wisconsin. The Harris campaign is holding events Thursday in Ozaukee and Waukesha counties with Gwen Walz, the wife of vice-presidential candidate and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz. Former Congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who survived a 2011 mass shooting in Arizona, campaigned for Harris Wednesday in Bayside and Wauwatosa.
Former President Trump will be back in Wisconsin this weekend as he's scheduled to hold a rally in Prairie du Chien Saturday afternoon, Sept. 28.
