Trump is set to respond to Harris on immigration during his visit to a small Wisconsin town

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A day after Vice President Kamala Harris discussed immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border, former President Donald Trump is expected to respond by again linking her to illegal border crossings at an event in a western Wisconsin river town.

Trump heads Saturday to Prairie du Chien, a town of about 5,000 people just across the Mississippi River from Iowa, for a campaign event focused on immigration. He is expected to highlight the local case of a Venezuelan national accused of sexually assaulting a woman and attacking her daughter in an alleged domestic dispute.

Trump is hoping frustration over illegal immigration will translate to votes in Wisconsin and other crucial swing states. The Republican nominee has denounced people who cross the U.S.-Mexico border as “poisoning the blood of the country” and vowed to stage the largest deportation operation in American history if elected.

Wisconsin Republicans in recent days have held up the story of Alejandro Jose Coronel Zarate’s arrest in Prairie du Chien as more evidence that people in the country illegally are committing crimes across the United States, not just in southern border states. Prosecutors charged Coronel Zarate on Sept. 18 with sexual assault, child abuse, strangulation and domestic abuse.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«RELATED COVERAGE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-hide-dates=«true» data-show-loadmore=«true»