Brandon Ortiz-Vite, 27, filed the handwritten complaint in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Michigan, naming Trump and White House principal deputy press secretary Steven Cheung as defendants.
Acting as his own attorney, Ortiz-Vite alleges publicity surrounding his case subjected him to humiliation, emotional distress, and harassment by prison staff and fellow inmates after Trump referenced him while campaigning on immigration.
The complaint asks the court to award $75 million in damages, issue a public apology, and grant Ortiz-Vite "naturalization to this beautiful country." It does not specify a legal cause of action, instead arguing Trump unfairly portrayed him as an example of failures in U.S. immigration policy.
In the filing, Ortiz-Vite said his nightmare began when media coverage put him in the public eye. Ortiz-Vite is serving 39 to 102 years in prison after pleading guilty to second-degree murder in the March 2024 killing of Ruby Garcia, 25, of Grand Rapids.
Garcia was shot multiple times after an argument with Ortiz-Vite, her boyfriend at the time. Authorities said he abandoned her body along U.S. 131 before fleeing in her vehicle. He surrendered to police two days later and confessed to the killing.
During a May 2024 preliminary hearing, Michigan State Police Detective Sgt. Aaron Tubergen testified Ortiz-Vite told investigators he had been drinking alcohol and using cocaine before the shooting.
Tubergen said Garcia stopped her vehicle along U.S. 131 after Ortiz-Vite repeatedly tried to grab the steering wheel during an argument. According to his testimony, Ortiz-Vite feared police would discover his immigration status if they encountered him walking along the highway. He then shot Garcia multiple times inside the vehicle before firing another shot in her head after seeing she was still alive.